Congress is considering new legislation that would erase many of the barriers to telehealth adoption and create better incentives for providers. Read More »
As my long-term care administrator and clinician friends and colleagues know, there’s rarely true respite from the unrelenting demands of the healthcare industry. And as if you didn’t have enough work-related issues on your plate, 2013 has kicked off with a political and regulatory bang. Read More »
“Respecting your elders” has gained a new meaning in China, where the national elder law has been amended to allow elders to sue their children for not taking care of them. Read More »
No one’s sure what key bargaining chips will be in play at today’s 3 p.m. meeting between President Obama and congressional leaders, but raising the Medicare age isn’t going to be one of them, according to a key Democratic Senator. Read More »
Placing brain health among the current national health priorities--like diabetes and heart disease--can give cognitive health the attention and respect it needs to foster awareness and better prevention habits, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Health Brain Initiative. Read More »
The long-term care industry was buffeted by forceful winds of change in 2012. Regulatory, political, economic and societal transitions tested providers’ mettle as the LTC landscape struggles to evolve and adapt. Technological advances and an improving senior housing market were bright spots in a busy news year. Read More »
MedPAC proposes more cuts for 2014, and the skilled nursing industry objects. But the GAO issues a report that can only make the industry’s case more difficult. Read More »
A new report released today by the American Health Care Association shows historic shortfalls in what Medicaid pays and what skilled nursing care actually costs. Read More »
No more guessing: After months of drafting and reviewing, the Final Testing Method for electronic medical records (EMRs) has been published by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC). Read More »
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' Fraud Prevention Program gets a decent grade in its Year One evaluation, but the inspectors also have a few suggestions. Read More »
Whether legislation and regulation were proposed, enacted or pending, state governments had a busy year reviewing the assisted living industry. Read More »
The Department of Health & Human Services clarified its position Monday on funding ratios for state Medicaid expansions and published an extensive FAQ list on state health insurance exchanges. Read More »
Healthcare policy expert Blair Childs, vice president for public affairs at Premier healthcare alliance, gives his "insider impressions" of what’s happening on the Hill regarding a possible "doc-fix," Medicare funding, and possible Affordable Care Act policy changes as the deadline clock ticks down on the fiscal cliff. Read More »
Healthcare associations appeal to Congress to keep the therapy cap off the calendar for another year, as the clock ticks toward the December 31 Congressional deadline. Read More »
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) is continuing its aggressive efforts to identify fraud among healthcare providers. In October, the OIG released its 2013 work plan, which outlines the audit and enforcement initiatives for Medicare and Medicaid providers in the coming year. Let's take a look at the Nursing Homes section of the work plan. Read More »
Speaker of the House John Boehner delivered a new proposal to solve the budget crisis this afternoon-- including billions in healthcare cuts. Read More »
A Nashville hospice care provider has become the first hospice organization in the country to publicize its care quality data, raising the bar for others in the palliative care industry. Read More »
A year ago, who would have thought such terms as “sequestration” and “fiscal cliff” would roll off our tongues so easily (even as some of us still grapple with comprehending the full impact of these concepts on our lives and industry). Read More »
According to news reports on Nov. 28 and 29, President Barack Obama has proposed cutting $340 billion from Medicare spending over 10 years, in his fiscal year 2013 budget, as part of his initial bargaining stance with Speaker of the House of Representatives John Boehner (R-OH) and congressional Republicans, during the so-called “fiscal cliff” negotiations. Read More »
There are plenty of potential holes in the Meaningful Use incentives programs for electronic health records—and too many temptations for cheating, says a new OIG report. Read More »
In the wake of federal reports of rampant fraudulence Medicare billing, the letters begin arriving at hospitals and other healthcare sites: Medicare wants its money back. Read More »
The release of today's proposed rules brings the Department of Health & Human Services a few steps closer in building the rules for state health exchanges (HIX). Read More »
The latest version of the Nursing Home Inspect tool includes more ways to search nursing home survey data and to assess the historial track record of a skilled nursing facility. Read More »
The Wall Street Journal reported that the OIG is using the term “Operation Vacuum Cleaner” to refer to its review of nursing home billing issues. This term is perhaps even more foreboding than the report itself. With the fiscal cliff looming and sharp negotiations set to begin over the future of Medicare reimbursement, the timing and substance of this report are less than ideal for an industry already under fire. Read More »
