Medicare rules might have to be relaxed to give hospitals more say in where patients go for post-acute care, members of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission proposed at a recent meeting in Washington,...
Medicare rates could be adjusted for start and end of hospice care episodes, CMS report suggests
By
Tim Mullaney
Jul 31, 2014
Medicare payments could be adjusted to reflect how hospice services tend to be more intensive at the beginning and end, according to findings recently published by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services...
MedPAC urges rates blind to care setting
By
Tim Mullaney
Jul 01, 2014
Skilled nursing facilities and inpatient rehabilitation facilities should receive equal payments for treating some conditions, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission proposed in its latest report to...
House and Senate take on bills that would standardize post-acute care data collection
By
Tim Mullaney
Jun 30, 2014
Both houses of Congress now officially are considering bills to standardize assessments across various post-acute care provider types. The House Ways and Means and Senate Finance committees introduced...
AHA pushes for payment policies to benefit hospital-based skilled nursing facilities
By
Tim Mullaney
Jun 27, 2014
The government should adjust Medicare payment policies to better support the type of care provided in hospital-based skilled nursing facilities, the American Hospital Association urged in a recent letter...
Skilled nursing providers and inpatient rehab facilities offer clashing views on Medicare payments as...
By
Tim Mullaney
Jun 19, 2014
Proposed Medicare payment changes have put the nation’s largest long-term care association at odds with inpatient rehabilitation providers, and the two sides sought to sway legislators in advance...
All ACOs should be allowed to waive 3-midnight requirement for Medicare skilled nursing coverage, MedPAC...
By
Tim Mullaney
Jun 18, 2014
Accountable care organizations should be able to place patients in skilled nursing facilities more quickly and communicate which SNFs are preferred providers, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission stated...
Some good news (from MedPAC !): Quality rising
By
James M. Berklan
Apr 01, 2014
A funny thing happened on the way to a semi-annual eye rolling about a MedPAC report. It contained some information that could make long-term care providers happy.
Rehab providers offer study results to argue against site-neutral payments
By
Tim Mullaney
Mar 12, 2014
Patients generally have better clinical outcomes and live longer if they are treated in an inpatient rehabilitation hospital rather than a skilled nursing facility, according to a study commissioned by...
Call to slash therapy caps
By
James M. Berklan
Feb 01, 2014
The chairman of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission has urged a House committee to set lower Medicare Part B therapy spending caps.