Congress should pass this provider-endorsed Medicare bill, and then go further
By
James M. Berklan
Aug 11, 2023
Despite today’s hyper-partisan divisions, there’s one nursing home-focused measure that should be a slam dunk among members of both major political parties.
Falling short in labeling seniors
By
Elizabeth Newman
May 29, 2014
I’m confident I’m not the only person who has worked in a hospital or long-term care who has heard this conversation about someone elderly who has recently died. “Well, she fell and broke...
As cameras roll, providers raise hopes about hospital ‘observation’ stays
By
James M. Berklan
Jan 15, 2014
It’s been said for a long time that a picture is worth a thousand words. Moving pictures? Start multiplying the worth. Add some sound or speaking to those moving pictures, well now we’re talking...
Bizarre decision shows that when it comes to 3-day stay rule, there ought to be a law
By
John O'Connor
Oct 11, 2013
There are many odd animals roaming our healthcare industrial complex. But few are more bizarre than Medicare’s three-day rule. Or more deserving of extinction.
Progress in trying to undo the hospital ‘observation stay’ mess
By
James M. Berklan
Jul 31, 2013
What is this world coming to? When you complain about bizarre government conditions or regulations, you usually have to assume you’re just whispering into the wind.
Medically Complex Medicare Part B
By
Shelly Mesure, MS, OTR/L
May 08, 2013
While CMS tries to figure out how to proceed with the manual medical review process, we continue to track our caps and apply our modifiers. In the meantime, has anyone noticed how our typical Medicare...
Looking to open eyes about ‘observations’
By
James M. Berklan
May 01, 2013
Bully for provider groups pulling out the stops to draw attention to the ludicrous mishandling of “observation stay” designations by many hospitals. One prong of the plan is to have providers...
Hoping for some ‘observation stay’ sanity
By
James M. Berklan
Apr 10, 2013
It was welcome news Tuesday to learn that the confirmation hearing for the person who could officially wind up holding the purse strings for most nursing home payments was civil. Even better was the nominee...
Beware of hospital observation loopholes
By
Shelly Mesure, MS, OTR/L
Dec 07, 2012
Hospitals have been undergoing more and more restrictions on re-admissions and are now facing financial penalties in some situations. Unfortunately, this has also resulted in more patients not being classified...