Lawmaker wants more surveys for Special Focus Facility nursing homes
By
Danielle Brown
May 10, 2022
A key U.S. lawmaker is calling on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to address reported lags in surveys of nursing homes in the Special Focus Facility program after finding that 1 in 5 are overdue...
CMS memo: ‘Dramatic staff losses’ not happening due to vax requirements
By
James M. Berklan
Feb 02, 2022
Declaring once again that “Vaccine requirements work,” Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure on Tuesday urged healthcare facility administrators to increase...
BREAKING: Supreme Court speeds vax mandates to Jan. 7 hearing
By
James M. Berklan
Dec 22, 2021
The U.S. Supreme Court took the unusual step of announcing Wednesday night that it would hear arguments over the administration’s COVID-19 worker vaccine mandate on Jan. 7, three days before it was originally...
Public data on coronavirus nursing home outbreaks still weeks away
By
Danielle Brown
May 11, 2020
The federal government is still weeks away from publicly reporting nationwide COVID-19 nursing home data, according to an NBC News report.
Judge slaps nationwide freeze on healthcare worker COVID vax mandate
By
James M. Berklan
Dec 01, 2021
A Louisiana federal judge on Tuesday granted a preliminary injunction against the Biden administration’s mandate that says all healthcare workers involved in the Medicare or Medicaid programs must be...
CMS will work with states, providers to help them comply with vaccine rule: report
By
Danielle Brown
Feb 17, 2022
West Virginia and Virginia’s requests for a waiver from the healthcare worker COVID-19 vaccine mandate for rural providers and state-run facilities likely won’t be granted by the Centers for Medicare...
Feds might dictate minimums nursing homes must spend on direct care workers
By
Danielle Brown
Apr 21, 2022
CHICAGO — The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is considering requiring nursing homes to spend a minimum amount of federal Medicaid reimbursement dollars on direct care workers as the agency...
Supreme Court leaves providers to grapple with vaccine mandate, takes other employers off the hook
By
Kimberly Marselas
James M. Berklan
Jan 13, 2022
Nursing home operators were already bracing late Thursday for the fallout of a nationwide staff vaccine mandate, just hours after the Supreme Court ruled a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services rule...
Providers warn of access issues as waivers near their end
By
Danielle Brown
Apr 08, 2022
Phasing out several COVID-related waivers, including one allowing temporary nurse aide training, over the next several weeks will further complicate workforce struggles, skilled nursing providers said...
Not so fast: 10 states suing CMS over healthcare worker vax mandate
By
James M. Berklan
Nov 12, 2021
Despite many legal analysts’ view that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ healthcare worker vaccination mandate will clear legal muster, a group of 10 states have filed suit to stop it.