The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has updated the online Medicare Provider Reimbursement Manual, modifying instructions related to the 2% reimbursement reductions resulting from sequestration.
April 09, 2013
Medicare recovery audit contractors (RACs) can request as few as 20 records in a 45-day period from skilled nursing facilities and other providers as of April 15, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. This is a reduction from the current 35-record minimum request.
Genesis HealthCare will enhance care for deaf individuals, including providing interpreters, as part of a recent settlement agreement with the Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR).
March 01, 2013
Someone leaked sensitive patient information to the press after we had a recent fire here. What steps can/should we take to investigate or determine who the leak was?
March 01, 2013
The Jimmo vs. Sebelius case, filed in January 2011 in federal district court in Vermont, has now been settled. The class action lawsuit challenged Medicare's use of an "improvement standard" in determining medical necessity for skilled nursing services and outpatient therapy.
February 01, 2013
I'm an administrator and am being recruited by a skilled nursing facility with past legal troubles. What should I do to satisfy myself that this facility has cleaned up its act and would be a good place to work?
October 18, 2012
A growing focus in long-term care facilities is on the reduction in preventable admissions and readmissions to the hospital. The truth is the timing of this mandate could not be better.
A tax credit designed to make it easier for small businesses to offer health insurance is underused, a government report finds.
Medicare recovery audit contractors (RACs) can now request twice as many resident medical records than previously allowed, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Investigators are blaming an Ohio nursing home fire — which killed one person and hospitalized five others — on a methamphetamine lab in a resident's room.
Elderly heart failure patients who need skilled nursing care after discharge from the hospital face a higher risk of poor outcomes and even death, according to the American Heart Association.
Registered nursing employment is expected to grow by 25% in nursing care facilities from 2008 to 2018. That is according to the 2010-2011 edition of the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook.
August 12, 2010
The proposed fiscal year 2011 market basket update of 1.7% for skilled nursing facilities is "more than adequate," the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) said in a letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will host a conference call Wednesday to discuss the Skilled Nursing Facility Prospective Payment System Resource Utilization Group-Version 4 (RUG-IV).
A new white paper developed by the American Medical Directors Association highlights successful and effective processes for transferring patients from acute care to skilled nursing facilities.
April 23, 2010
Federal health officials said Thursday that they still don't have a way to calculate proper Medicare nursing home reimbursement rates after mandated changes are to take place this fall with the introduction of MDS 3.0.
April 08, 2010
A bill that would delay a 21.2% cut in physician pay under Medicare is holding up the calculation of Medicare Part B therapy rates for skilled nursing facilities. The bill is awaiting action from the Senate, which returns from Easter recess on Monday.
March 31, 2010
A recent Washington Post analysis of the use of "ultra-high" reimbursement categories for nursing homes "paints a negative, incomplete picture of the growing role and tangible benefits associated with skilled nursing facility (SNF) patient care," two leading long-term care advocates said.
Seniors discharged from hospital or intensive care unit to skilled nursing facilities are significantly more likely to die within six months than those discharged home, according to a new study.
My how things change. Just a month ago a healthcare reform bill seemed en route to passage. Now its very existence is in question and, by extension, some key long-term care services are too.
January 15, 2010
As expected, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) on Thursday recommended that skilled nursing facilities not receive a payment increase for fiscal year 2011.
November 06, 2009
The U.S House of Representatives has scheduled a vote on its comprehensive healthcare reform bill for Saturday evening. As lawmakers fine-tune the legislative language, outside groups, including the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, continue to weigh in on the debate.
October 27, 2009
President Obama has declared the H1N1 flu pandemic a national emergency. As a result, skilled nursing facilities can petition the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for a waiver to increase the number of certified beds.
Skilled nursing facilities face a projected Medicaid shortfall in 2009 of $15.64 a day, Joseph Lubarsky, a partner with accounting firm Eljay LLC, said Monday.
August 25, 2009
A controversial new rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid rule will recalibrate Medicare case mixes under the Resource Utilization Group (RUG) system. Specifically, it will eliminate a section of the Minimum Data Set (MDS) and change the RUG classification process for short-stay residents.
