The brief suggests Medicare Advantage (MA) plans could be directed to be more precise about how they will serve people living with dementia through their models of care (MOCs). Authors recommend states require dual-eligible, special needs plans (D-SNPs) to meet the needs of their members with dementia and said government agencies could...White Papers, E books, Reports and more
The National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) recently ran a learning collaborative for 10 participating states as an opportunity to explore and strengthen policies for improving care in Medicaid Managed Long-Term Care Services and Supports (MLTSS) programs.
The program allowed states to collaborate through roundtables, monthly...National News
The Trump administration's efforts to end deportation protections for migrants with temporary legal status is adding additional challenges to the long-term care system.
The biggest impact so far has stemmed from the Trump administration’s decision to end various programs that grant migrants temporary legal status, which authorizes...
Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a reconciliation package with significant changes for Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace as part of what President Donald Trump's calls a "big beautiful" spending vision for his second term in office.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that the part...
Beginning October 1, 2025, Banner Health and Mercy Care will join Centene and UnitedHealthcare to provide covered services for about 26,000 Arizonans enrolled in its Arizona Long Term Care System (ALTCS) Elderly and/or Physically Disabled (EPD) program. Statewide contracts were awarded to Centene and UHC but Banner Health and Mercy Care...
President Donald Trump began his second term with a flurry of executive orders targeting immigrants and workforce diversity, which directly threatens the stability of the long-term care industry.
The administration focused on diversity, equity and inclusion programs (DEI), marking them "illegal" and redefining them as a form of...
Researchers found the average Medicaid payment covered about 82% of reported costs, meaning nursing homes typically received 82 cents for each dollar spent on Medicaid residents' care.
Using Medicaid payment data from individual states and Medicare cost reports for freestanding nursing homes in 44 states, ASPE researchers...
A recent report highlights the disproportional high expenditures on U.S. healthcare and how America stacks up to comparable wealthy countries. The U.S. spent approximately $12,742 per person, whereas Switzerland, the second-highest spender, allocated $9,044 per capita. With the U.S. excluded, the average for comparable counties was...Arizona News
This week, the Health and Human Services Committees in the Arizona House and Senate heard a number of bills related to the administration of health and health policy and local industry advocates are speaking up to remind lawmakers of what's on the line this session.
As tensions around immigration issues rise nationally, Arizona Health...
Today is the last day of the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE), and policies are rapidly shifting to accommodate the post-pandemic healthcare landscape in the U.S.
On Tuesday, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced that it would continue allowances for telehealth companies to prescribe controlled substances for six...
On Tuesday, President Joe Biden signed a massive executive order aimed at senior care, long-term care facilities and home caregiving. The order also included provisions for child care and early childhood education.
The long-term care sector has struggled with workforce shortages that predate the COVID-19 pandemic but were exacerbated...Arizona News
In reports received from nursing home chains from March to June 2020, one complaint included an Ensign Group nursing home in Arizona which alleged a staffing coordinator had been making CNAs and nurses work despite reporting COVID symptoms and refusing to let people call off when they reported COVID symptoms.
The Report's Key...National News
At this time two years ago, the future of alternative payment models (APMs) and accountable care organizations (ACOs) was uncertain and to some degree the entire landscape of value-based care hung in the balance while the Trump administration sorted out the details of the Direct Contracting payment models. But now, under the Biden...
Following the devastating report from the Arizona Auditor General in May, Arizona lawmakers held ADHS interim director Don Herrington's feet to the fire for nearly three hours last Thursday, searching for answers to the damning questions raised by the report.
The Arizona Department of Health Services is accused of not following...
The BA.2 variant, also known as the "stealth Omicron," is now the dominant coronavirus version in the U.S. and more than 60 other countries. This week, Philadelphia became the first major city in the U.S. to announce that it would return to mandating masks in public spaces due to the spread of BA.2. Meanwhile, Arizona, the Centers for...
On Monday, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) filed the Fiscal Year 2023 Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Prospective Payment System (PPS) Proposed Rule. The reimbursements include a 3.9% increase to industry reimbursements, but in aggregate the impact of payment policies would result in a decrease of $320 million in...
Already struggling with staffing due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, nursing homes are now starting to realize just how dire the situation truly is -- with more than 40,000 residents and 67,000 staff contracting COVID in the early weeks of January.
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the...
A dozen of Synergy's franchises operate in Arizona offering companionship services, in addition to personal assistance, housekeeping, live-in care and 24-hour home care services.
In an interview with Home Health Care News, Synergy CEO Charlie Young,
Synergy CEO credits the company’s continued momentum for its success.
If you...
With a new year at hand, many nursing home and long-term care facility administrators and policy makers are now looking to use challenges faced and lessons learned during 2021 to fuel change in 2022. The change of the calendar has not brought an end to the staffing challenges facing such facilities, fueled by the lightning fast spread of...
While telehealth increased access to care and reduced stress for some skilled nursing and long-term care facilities, others faced unexpected challenges, such as lack of adequate training for staff and increased social isolation for residents.
According to mHealth Intelligence, a recent study from the University of Missouri found,...
