Skilled Nursing Facility

CMS updates SNF Medicare manual to implement sequestration cuts

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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.

CMS announces lower minimum request limit for recovery audit contractors

CMS announces lower minimum request limit for recovery audit contractors By

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, HHS reach settlement over treatment of deaf residents

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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).

Ask the legal expert ... how to deal with someone leaking information

Ask the legal expert ... how to deal with someone leaking information By

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?

The mythical standard

The mythical standard By

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.

Ask the legal expert ... about due diligence when being recruited

Ask the legal expert ... about due diligence when being recruited By

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?

Can't we all just communicate?

Can't we all just communicate?

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.

GAO: Small business tax credit for healthcare is underused

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A tax credit designed to make it easier for small businesses to offer health insurance is underused, a government report finds.

Medicare auditors can request twice as many SNF medical records

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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.

Nursing home meth lab fire kills one, hospitalizes five

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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.

Study: Elderly heart failure patients discharged to nursing homes face higher risks

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.

RN jobs to rise by 25% in nursing facilities over next decade, government report finds

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.

Market basket increase for 2011 'more than adequate,' MedPAC says

Market basket increase for 2011 'more than adequate,' MedPAC says

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.

CMS conference call Wednesday to focus on RUG-IV, MDS 3.0

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).

Medical directors release guidance on transferring patients from acute care to skilled nursing facilities

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.

Delay of RUGs-IV confuses calculation of nursing home reimbursement rates, regulators say

Delay of RUGs-IV confuses calculation of nursing home reimbursement rates, regulators say

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.

Stalled physician pay bill affects Medicare Part B skilled nursing therapy rates

Stalled physician pay bill affects Medicare Part B skilled nursing therapy rates

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.

Long-term care leaders criticize Washington Post article on reimbursements

Long-term care leaders criticize Washington Post article on reimbursements

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.

Elderly ICU, hospital patients might survive longer at home, research suggests

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.

Need grows for therapy caps resolution

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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.

MedPAC recommends freeze on skilled nursing facility payments for fiscal year 2011

MedPAC recommends freeze on skilled nursing facility payments for fiscal year 2011

As expected, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) on Thursday recommended that skilled nursing facilities not receive a payment increase for fiscal year 2011.

House sets healthcare vote for Saturday; AAHSA applauds inclusion of CLASS Act

House sets healthcare vote for Saturday; AAHSA applauds inclusion of CLASS Act

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.

Skilled nursing facilities can petition CMS to waive bed limits under H1N1 national emergency declaration

Skilled nursing facilities can petition CMS to waive bed limits under H1N1 national emergency declaration

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.

Lubarsky: Medicaid shortfall expected to widen in 2009

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.

New CMS rule to eliminate section of MDS, revise RUGs

New CMS rule to eliminate section of MDS, revise RUGs

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.

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