Earlier this month, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published the proposed rule for nursing home federal staffing minimums and guidelines. The proposed rule was rebuffed by the nursing home industry and related stakeholders, as the nursing home workforce is already depleted due to the pandemic exacerbating an already...
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published a memo concerning a crackdown on improper claims for skilled nursing facilities. CMS also announced that it would begin a demonstration for inpatient rehabilitation facilities in Alabama that will allow all Medicare claims to be subject to review.
As of June 5, all SNFs...
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will allow Arizona to continue operating its own state plan for worker safety and health. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) offer insight into life without the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE).
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an...
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
This week in value-based care, CMMI director Elizabeth Fowler defends criticism of the ACO REACH payment model, CMS improves ACO quality care reporting and data aggregation, the White House moves to support a value-based program for skilled nursing facilities, FQHCs struggle to keep up with systemic transformation and MedPAC moves to...National News
While nursing home and long-term care facilities continue to struggle with nationwide staff shortages, the struggle has highlighted a variety of quality and safety concerns across the industry.
Revcycle Intelligence reports the majority of nursing homes and assisted living facilities say that their workforce situation has only gotten...
Many U.S. skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) have staff vaccination rates below the national average which is contributing to an uptick in overall COVID-19 case rates in nursing homes. But long-term care stakeholder groups are concerned that vaccination mandates may negatively affect already tight staffing rates in SNFs. Also, a JAMA...
This week, skilled nursing facilities are finding new pathways to value-based care and the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) is under review for incentives. While ACOs have been struggling, the American Medical Group Association recommended several ways to improve them in a letter to the Centers for Medicare &...National News
It's no secret that of all the industries hard hit by COVID-19, skilled nursing and long term care were two of the hardest hit.
A study released on Tuesday by the inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services found that four in ten Medicare beneficiaries who lived in nursing homes last year had or likely had...National News
On Tuesday, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), the nonpartisan commission advising the U.S. Congress on Medicare, advised the elimination of the value-based purchasing program, created in 2014 in order to improve quality of care for skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). MedPAC says the standalone metric of hospital...Health Related Groups
At the beginning of May, Gov. Doug Ducey vetoed a bill that would have allowed the Arizona board that oversees licenses for nursing home and assisted living administrators to operate for eight more years. Instead, Ducey wants the Legislature to transfer the board’s responsibility to the Arizona State Health Department.
A recent...Arizona News
There were 540 new cases of COVID-19 reported in Arizona today, bringing the state total to 874,605. There were 17 new COVID-19 related deaths, the state total is at 17,497. 44.1% of Arizonans have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
This information comes from the Arizona Department of Health Services COVID-19 data...Arizona News
The theory was that recovery in SNFs would occur with COVID-19 vaccination uptake among staff and residents, visitation policies of nursing homes, the willingness of family members to place their loved ones in the SNF setting, and acute care’s return to normal.
Now, the question is whether or not hospitals will continue to discharge...CMS Rules
After a 1.7 billion in nursing home payment increase, the federal government is mulling several options to recalibrate the Medicare payment structure for skilled nursing facilities as it seeks to achieve its intended goal of budget neutrality, with the aim of shutting off excess payments as soon as possible.
SNF News
According to the...Colorado Resources
The Ensign Group Inc., the parent company of the EnsignTM group of companies, which provide skilled nursing and assisted living services, physical, occupational and speech therapies and other rehabilitative and healthcare services, has acquired the operations of three skilled nursing facilities in Colorado:
Boulder Canyon Health and...National News
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission voted to recommend Congress create a new value incentive program to reward skilled nursing facilities for good performance. MedPAC also approved a recommendation for Congress to direct the Department of Health and Human Services to develop and begin to report patient experience measures for...National News
Nursing homes have experienced high staff turnover since the pandemic began, vaccine hesitancy among staff may be responsible for continued spread in homes, and home health care services are continuing to be highly favored over skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) among certain demographics.
Staffing shortages are up for nursing...
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated an unfortunate reputation for skilled nursing facilities as initial results from partial data show that nursing homes were the second most deadly workplace during the ongoing health crisis.
According to Skilled Nursing News, nursing homes had 80 deaths per 100,000 full-time employees last year....
On February 17th, Arizona passed 15,000 reported deaths caused by COVID-19 with 82 new deaths reported. There were 1,315 new cases reported and 6,280 new tests, bringing the total percent positive to 14.3%. 15% of ICU beds are available with 33% in use by COVID-19 patients.
This information is updated daily at the Arizona...News
The national push to increase vaccine supply, get it out the door faster, increase the number medical units and locations add up to more shots. AARP wants Arizona to put up the vaccination data for residents and staff in long-term care facilities to ensure the most vulnerable are being prioritized in the state; race and ethnic...
