_-1_361461_361463.jpg?format=jpg&zoom=1&quality=70&anchor=middlecenter&height=80&width=80&mode=crop "State News")
April 01, 2013
A four-person review panel would have to approve civil malpractice lawsuits against long-term care providers before the claims could go to court, under a bill that recently passed the state senate in Kentucky.
March 01, 2013
Virginia — State Sen. Bill Stanley (R) has introduced a bill requiring that nursing homes, assisted living facilities and other certified nursing facilities obtain minimum levels of insurance. If SB70 becomes law, affected facilities would have to maintain liability coverage of at least $1 million, and have levels of professional liability insurance defined by the state's medical malpractice caps.
February 01, 2013
The Florida Health Care Association (FHA) criticized a report that one in five Florida nursing homes appears on the state's watch list for failing to meet minimum care standards or correct violations within a specified time frame.
January 01, 2013
A pending bill would prohibit unauthorized provider reimbursement rate decreases by other managed care organizations, as well as Medicaid and NJ FamilyCare.
December 01, 2012
It could be months before New York and New Jersey long-term care facilities and their residents fully recover from the double whammy of Hurricane Sandy and the subsequent nor'easter winter storm in early November.
November 01, 2012
ALABAMA - Voters in mid-September overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment to use more than $400 million from a rarely tapped source to shore up the Medicaid program and avoid a 12% cut.
October 01, 2012
OHIO - A plan to incentivize providers for better care with financial rewards instead of penalties is gaining traction among the state's 970 nursing homes. Advocates say the pay-for-performance model could eventually improve quality, while opponents claim some incentives are either too weak or unattainable.
September 01, 2012
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy (D) joined 700 striking nursing home workers after a National Labor Relations Board ruling found their employer violated labor laws.
September 01, 2012
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy (D) joined 700 striking nursing home workers after a National Labor Relations Board ruling found their employer violated labor laws.
August 01, 2012
Gov. Deval Patrick (D) has signed off on sweeping reforms designed to improve dementia care in nursing homes. The law includes a requirement for minimum care standards for dementia care units, and mandates dementia-specific training for all direct-care workers, activities directors and supervisors.
July 05, 2012
Lawmakers are hoping an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure for the state's ailing Medicaid program. Additionally, its plan to push seniors' wellness programs is being eyed as a potential reform model following the Obama administration's $1.9 billion pledge to help it succeed.
June 05, 2012
Consumer advocates in Kansas are concerned about a series of decisions by Gov. Sam Brownback (R) to appoint nursing home industry veterans to high-level Department of Aging positions.
May 01, 2012
Lawmakers in Colorado are trying to change the fact that their state is one of only four that do not have mandatory reporting laws governing elder abuse. State Sen. Evie Hudak (D) introduced legislation that would form a task force to study mandatory reporting. It would offer recommendations by Dec. 1, the Denver Post reported.
April 02, 2012
Illinois lawmakers delayed a vote on a bill requiring that at least 20% of all nursing and personal care in a nursing home be provided by a registered nurse.
March 01, 2012
Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) signed anti-union legislation early in February that will turn Indiana into a right-to-work state. Right-to-work legislation bans unions from requiring members to pay union dues, a move that pro-labor critics of the legislation characterize as "union-busting."
February 01, 2012
Due partly to the average 11.1% reduction in Medicare payments to nursing homes that took effect in October, New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez (R) is asking state legislators to approve her state budget, which earmarks $8 million for skilled nursing facilities.
January 03, 2012
OHIO — The state's skilled nursing facilities have shed or plan to shed 2,800 jobs in the wake of recent Medicare and Medicaid cuts, new survey results show.
December 01, 2011
California has managed to gain Obama administration approval to cut the state's Medicaid program funding by $1.4 billion. Providers soon will feel the sting of 10% reimbursement cuts.
November 01, 2011
NEW YORK - That the state health department cut nursing home Medicaid funding this year was enough of a sting, but having to recoup payouts from years before was the proverbial straw for nearly 36 facilities, which are now suing the state Health Department.
October 01, 2011
FLORIDA - Federal HHS investigators accused the state's Department of Elder Affairs of violating the Older Americans Act, capping a five-month investigation over a series of actions it claims unlawfully neutralized the powers of a nursing home watchdog program.
September 01, 2011
Ongoing Medicaid program cuts have now led to a game of musical chairs in the state's nursing homes, which no longer can hold the room of a resident who is temporarily hospitalized or leaves to visit friends or family.
August 02, 2011
OHIO — Instead of cutting its way out of an $8 billion budget shortfall, the state will instead shift more funding dollars away from nursing homes toward less costly home-based long-term care in a move that is being billed as one of the most profound Medicaid program overhauls in history.
July 01, 2011
Six skilled nursing facilities are still sorting through the debris and fallout of lives and jobs uprooted from a tornado that nearly leveled the entire city of Joplin, MO, in late April.
June 01, 2011
You've seen Jack Nicholson's portrayal of R.P. McMurphy in "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest," pretending to swallow pills given to him by Nurse Ratched in a small paper cup.
April 01, 2011
MINNESOTA--Just days after approving expansion of the state's Medicaid rolls by 95,000 people in mid-February, Gov. Mark Dayton unveiled a fiscal budget that would cut Medicaid payments for long-term care by $87 million.
February 01, 2011
Gov. Jan Brewer (R) asked Arizona's congressional delegation, as well as U.S. House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), to introduce legislation that would remove the spending requirement for state Medicaid programs. A letter from Brewer said increased Medicaid spending is one of the biggest culprits in the state's budget crisis, The Arizona Republic reported.
January 03, 2011
Gov. Haley Barbour (R) is looking to Medicaid to balance the state's troubled budget. Barbour's proposal includes a 4% reduction in Medicaid payments to nursing homes and an 8% cut to hospitals and other healthcare providers.
December 01, 2010
Governor-elect Terry Branstad (R) recently told Iowa Public Television viewers that the state's nursing home inspectors have "a gotcha attitude" when it comes to in the way they enforce regulations in Iowa nursing homes.
November 01, 2010
Nursing homes in Southeast Michigan are experiencing a budget crisis, and the area could soon face a shortage of skilled nursing facilities, according to a recent report.
October 01, 2010
Recently passed nursing home reform laws in Illinois will require facilities to increase the number of staff. It's a requirement many in the nursing home industry are calling a Catch-22.
September 01, 2010
Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear (D) has called on state health officials to review the way in which the state handles reports of abuse and neglect in nursing homes.
August 01, 2010
Gov. Mark Parkinson (D) signed a bill that reverses a 10% Medicaid cut that took effect Jan. 1.
July 01, 2010
Looking to hang on to an estimated $7.8 billion in federal healthcare funds, the Arizona Legislature has decided not to remove 300,000 enrollees from the state-run Medicaid program.
June 01, 2010
Lawmakers in April struck a budget deal that would slash payments to nursing homes by $300 million.
May 01, 2010
The governor was expected to sign a budget bill that would slash nearly $124 million in Medicaid payments from nursing homes in fiscal years 2011 and 2012.
April 01, 2010
The Health Facilities Association of Maryland is asking the state to support a bill that would raise the quality assessment tax.
March 01, 2010
Starting April 1, the Oklahoma Health Care Authority is reducing Medicaid reimbursements to nursing homes by 3.25%.
February 01, 2010
The Legislature in March is expected to pass legislation that would tighten the rules for people applying for caregiving jobs in the state.
January 01, 2010
Gov. Mark Parkinson (D) sliced $259 million more from the state budget in late November. Medicaid reimbursements were cut by 10%.
December 01, 2009
A new Medicaid bundling program is hurting some nursing homes.
November 01, 2009
The state is considering improving safeguards but also sweeping reforms to prevent dangerous mentally ill patients from harming fellow residents in nursing homes.
September 01, 2009
Nursing homes are expected to suffer a $23 million loss in Medicaid payments under a budget package approved in late July by the state's Board of Public Works.
August 01, 2009
Gov. Jodi Rell signed a bill prohibiting providers from requiring "donations" or gifts from Medicaid residents as a condition of admission, or lengthening a stay.
July 01, 2009
Nursing homes that identify and correct certain health and safety issues on their own will see fines eliminated under a newly enacted law.
June 01, 2009
A new two-year budget proposed by Gov. Ted Strickland (D) has alarmed advocates for skilled nursing facilities.
May 01, 2009
Residents and staff at 110-bed Pinelake Health and Rehab in Carthage, NC, have been struggling to recover after a gunman walked into the nursing home and killed seven residents and a certified nursing assistant on March 29.
April 01, 2009
Gov. Jon Corzine (D) was expected to sign legislation that would require nursing homes in the state to use pressure redistribution mattresses to reduce the incidence of bedsores.
March 01, 2009
A proposal that would require facilities through-out the state to prominently show their new federal star ratings has received pushback from nursing homes.
February 01, 2009
Nursing homes are concerned about a new federal waiver that allows the state to reform its long-term care program to emphasize home- and community-based care.
December 01, 2008
New York's attorney general is expanding the use of hidden camera technology to the Buffalo region.
