The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) got a tongue-lashing from the Senate Finance Committee, while CMMI’s director explains that testing new models takes time before payment reforms can be put into action. Read More »
Legislation that would roll back caps on therapy services to seniors in skilled nursing centers has been introduced in both the House and Senate and is being applauded by an industry reeling from one payment reduction after another. Read More »
States have refined survey systems and are demanding more disclosure for assisted living, according to the Assisted Living State Regulatory Review, released Wednesday by The National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL). Read More »
Skilled nursing facilities and home health agencies face payment reductions, but hospices and long-term care hospitals get a first-round bye in MedPAC's latest Medicare payment recommendations to Congress. Read More »
The American Health Care Association (AHCA) today will voice its support for comprehensive immigration reform and offer solutions to the nationwide mid-level caregiver staffing crisis before a House Education & Workforce Subcommittee on Workplace Protections. Read More »
A new survey of Texas nursing homes finds the series of state and federal funding cuts to seniors’ skilled nursing facility care is creating a dangerous strain on facilities’ ability to care for growing numbers of older, more medically complex residents. Read More »
Many health professionals feel that dementia is under-diagnosed in nursing home residents, which may lead to poorly coordinated care or inappropriate care. Read More »
Nursing home consumers—residents and their families—say the survey process has flaws that need to be addressed, according to a new report from the Coalition for Quality Care. Read More »
Peter Reed, PhD, CEO of Pioneer Network, spoke with Long-Term Living about the roots of culture change and today's campaign against ageism. How far has person-centered care come and what still needs to be done? Read More »
New data on hospital readmission shows that healthcare reform is making an impact--changing the rates for the first time in five years, says CMS. Read More »
The California Public Employees’ Retirement System, the country's third-largest health benefits purchaser, dropped a bombshell on its long-term care policyholders—switch LTC policies or deal with a massive rate increase. Read More »
With the clock ticking on March 1 Medicare cuts to nursing homes resulting from the onset of the federal Budget Relief Act's sequester provision, the Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care on Wednesday released a state "Top Ten List" detailing the Medicare cut total to state nursing homes, their residents and their workforce. Read More »
A new report from the Office of Inspector General accuses skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) of misusing their Medicare payments, since more than one-third of SNFs don’t fulfill—or even create—the care plans and discharge goals required for their residents. Read More »
Widely recognized by his bushy beard and somber uniform, former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop became a household name for his anti-smoking campaign. Read More »
The Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care (AQNHC) on Monday praised the introduction of New York Senator Chuck Schumer's (D-NY) bill, the Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act, which changes Medicare law to permit nursing home residents access to skilled nursing care after hospital “observation stays.” Read More »
The conventional understanding of the assisted living category of senior care is just that—senior care—without a clear explanation of the populations served. Read More »
How many of your residents are on track to exceed the $1,900 payment cap on physical or occupational therapies? We examine the current therapy cap situation, and why it's such a challenge for long-term and post-acute care. Read More »
Florida’s governor, once one of the loudest voices against “ObamaCare,” has done a policy about-face and now supports limited Medicaid expansion in the state. Read More »
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has released its proposals for rate and payment changes for 2014. Seniors may be happy about the Part D drug changes, but insurers aren't as pleased with their end of deal. Read More »
Some $85 billion in across-the-board cuts in federal programs are expected to take place between March 1 and September 30 unless Congress, with some form of last minute heroics, can cut a deal to avoid those reductions, mandated by law, from being imposed. Read More »
The stunning news earlier this week that Pope Benedict XVI was stepping down as leader of the Catholic Church put all the complicated and often confounding issues surrounding aging in a global spotlight. Read More »
President Barack Obama addressed challenges and opportunities facing the federal Medicare program, citing value-based purchasing in particular as an important change to the U.S. healthcare system, as well as proposing changes in pharmaceutical policy and in Medicare rules for wealthy seniors. Read More »
Hospitals made little progress on hospital readmission rates between 2008 and 2010, and some regions have far more readmissions than the national average. Read More »
