Legislation to block the federal minimum staffing proposal for nursing homes reached a milestone today, passing in the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee. The Protecting America’s Seniors’ Access to Care Act (H.R. 7513) was first introduced by Rep. Michelle Fischbach (R-MN) and would prevent the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) from finalizing […]
LeadingAge
More than 1,000 nursing home leaders, along with associations like LeadingAge and the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL), sent a joint letter to House Ways and Means Committee leaders to reject the federal minimum staffing proposal. The letter, spearheaded by AHCA/NCAL, was sent late Thursday and signed by state […]
The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) is recommending that the federal government bolster its support to nursing homes – including through policies that help strengthen the workforce – in order to improve quality of care. In its latest report, which draws upon lessons learned during the pandemic, OIG lays forth a set of five […]
Soaring costs associated with skilled nursing – and problematic payer sources – are making it harder for continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs) to provide such labor intensive post-acute care. CCRCs have to ask themselves some hard questions when it comes to what services they can reasonably offer, and if it’s worth it to keep open […]
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is placing limits on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in denials of claims related to Medicare Advantage plans, and adding more guidance to health care providers on post-acute care admissions. The agency issued an FAQ Tuesday to address concerns related to coverage criteria and utilization […]
Piece by piece, nursing home operators are seeing stricter government oversight of Medicare Advantage (MA) plans, a welcome relief given that partnerships with such managed care plans have become a huge source of administrative burden for providers in the sector, especially as workforce shortages persist. Most recently, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) […]
Nursing home operators can expect to see a lot more regulatory activity in the next few months, with rules and regulations being finalized prior to a potential presidential administration change, with that administration taking office in 2025. A slew of proposed and finalized rules were issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) […]
Potential changes to the nursing home survey process being mulled over by federal authorities – and aimed at standardization across states – have many operators feeling optimistic for the years ahead, especially given that regional differences in implementation can lead to extra administrative burdens and survey backlogs. Toward the end of 2023, the Centers for […]
Nursing home leaders from across the nation, including the largest advocacy groups for the sector, plan to oversee efforts in 2024 to increase funding – both from the federal government and through improved revenue streams as operating pressures ease slightly. At the center of these efforts is an attempt at influencing the political will and […]
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and its Secretary, Xavier Becerra, need to “do its part” to increase Covid vaccination rates among nursing home residents, starting with easing logistical issues that continue to be barriers to uptake. That’s according to LeadingAge President and CEO Katie Smith Sloan, who also cited the benefits of […]
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a proposed rule that aims to establish appeals processes for certain Medicare beneficiaries in Original Medicare who undergo a change in their hospital status, often triggering a denial of inpatient and skilled nursing care. The proposed rule is a result of a 2011 nationwide class action […]
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the majority of nursing home legislation introduced or passed this year had to do with staffing. At the national level, Congressional efforts to block the federal minimum staffing proposal gained steam at the end of the year. State legislation ran the gamut, with California raising the minimum wage to $25 per hour for […]
Decades-long underfunding of nursing homes continues to create unnecessary hardships for aging Americans as access issues deepen. And yet, attempts to change the current financial system have fallen on deaf ears. In an effort to get the attention of lawmakers in Washington, LeadingAge President and CEO Katie Smith Sloan took aim with this view at […]
Legislation to block the nursing home minimum staffing proposal gained major traction this week, as a bill introduced on the Senate floor late Tuesday received more bipartisan support. Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) led the way with the Protecting Rural Seniors’ Access to Care Act, which aims to stop the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services […]
In order to keep Medicare Advantage plans in check for denial of services, provider organizations are pressuring federal authorities to do more, and asking them to closely monitor and aggressively enforce reforms for these plans as envisioned in a final rule that takes effect on Jan. 1. Companies managing MA plans have said they don’t […]
Nursing homes could receive a hardship exemption for the minimum staffing proposal – but the devil is in the details here – and looks like qualifying for it is going to be tough. Facilities will need to meet four criteria for an exemption, but it’s unclear how operators will prove some aspects of the criteria […]
As advocacy efforts to oppose the federal government’s proposed staffing mandate continue, the National Association for Licensed Practical Nurses (NALPN) is lending its voice towards the withdrawal of the mandate by sharing a joint letter it sent to the federal agency. The role of licensed practical nurses (LPNs) has been chopped off from the proposal, […]
As CEO of Atlanta-based nonprofit A.G. Rhodes and LeadingAge board member, Deke Cateau knows that well-intentioned policies sometimes simply don’t work in the real world – and can even wreak havoc for nursing homes. “If we have individuals … making critical changes to an industry that they do not understand, it’s dangerous. It would be […]
More than two months after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced its minimum staffing proposal for the skilled nursing industry, commentary from stakeholders came to a close Monday with a staggering 40,000-plus comments received. Reviewing the hefty load of comments on the proposal may take as long as a year, according to […]
Nearly 100 members of the U.S. House of Representatives are urging the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to reconsider the proposed federal nursing home staffing mandate. The lawmakers on Friday sent a letter to CMS describing their concerns with the mandate. “Finalizing this proposal would result in limited access to care for seniors, […]
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