As expected and hoped for by many healthcare providers, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on Monday proposed permanently adopting some telehealth and therapy coverage expansions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Due to the slow lab turnaround times for COVID-19 tests, delivery of point-of-care diagnostic testing instruments and tests from the federal government comes at the right time. That’s the word from the chief medical officer of the largest nursing home chain in the country.
Now is the opportunity for providers, policymakers and other stakeholders to aggressively reform the long-term services and supports system after its underlying weaknesses were exposed under pandemic conditions, experts argue in a new Health Affairs blog post.
Michigan’s governor has vetoed a bill that would have required coronavirus patients to be placed only into separate, COVID-only facilities and not nursing homes.
Frontline providers with access to “adequate” personal protective equipment are three times more likely to test positive for the coronavirus than the general public. The rate rises to fivefold among workers from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, say researchers.
Emergency treatment with RLF-100 may help critically ill COVID-19 patients … Baby boomers scoring lower on cognitive tests than previous generation … COVID-19 vaccine is on the way; U.S. cases more widespread, officials say … Canes and walkers get a stylish look as senior population grows … One million POC tests delivered to nursing homes
The federal government delivered about 1 million point-of-care tests to nursing homes last week, according to a leading health official.
Juniper Communities created an early COVID-19 battle plan using cohorting and universal testing. Today the majority of its communities are testing 100% negative for the virus, says founder and CEO Lynne Katzmann.
Pharmacists are advocating to insert a policy in the upcoming coronavirus relief bill that would give them Medicare Part B provider status for conducting COVID-19 testing and vaccinations.
Nursing homes will receive a Medicare pay boost for fiscal 2021, federal officials announced today.
