Online resource packed with regulatory news and expert guidance, tips & tools pertinent to professionals across the post-acute care continuum.
The average price paid for a skilled nursing facility bed reached a record $73,300 in 2013, according to a recently released annual report published by Irving Levin Associates. The price-per-bed number increased 21% from 2012, the report states. The numbers reflect census changes to include more high-acuity patients paying through Medicare or a managed care […]
A Republican budget plan unveiled in the House of Representatives Tuesday would slash healthcare spending by $732 billion over the next decade, in part by reengineering Medicaid. House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) was the chief architect of the plan for fiscal year 2015, and its healthcare provisions are similar to his past budgets. He envisions […]
Both houses of Congress now have passed a bill that ties skilled nursing facility Medicare reimbursements to hospital readmissions, starting in 2018. The Senate approved the “Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014” in a 64 to 35 vote Monday evening. The measure, will also postpone the transition to the ICD-10 code set by one year and […]
Q: A long term care resident is discharged to the hospital, returning to the facility skilled level of care. What is the correct process regarding old diagnoses dates, should they be updated to the current readmission date? A: Diagnoses should be updated upon readmission.
A bill linking skilled nursing facilities’ Medicare payments to hospital readmissions passed the House of Representatives Thursday. The measure also would extend the ICD-10 transition period and prevent a looming physician pay cut. The Senate is scheduled to vote on the bill Monday, and it then likely would go quickly to the White House for the […]
The Long-Term Care Regulatory Compliance Boot Camp is an intensive four-day course that will enable your facility to improve survey outcomes, identify quality of care risk factors, and implement a process improvement plan. Visit our website to register. (http://hcprobootcamps.com/courses/10024/location-dates) You will leave the Long-Term Care Regulatory Compliance Boot Camp knowing how to: Identify deficiencies in […]
A new study published in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry explains that an updated quality measure could produce a clearer picture of nursing homes’ antipsychotic prescribing practices. In 2012, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services introduced the quality measure, which assesses how many long-stay residents are on antipsychotic medications and do not have […]
Congress will be racing against the clock until the payments that doctors receive in exchange for treating Medicare patients are cut significantly. If Congress fails to pass legislation by March 31, the 685,000 doctors that participate in Medicare will see their reimbursements cut by 24% starting April 1. The cut is based on the sustainable […]
Lawmakers in both houses of Congress have presented a draft bill calling for post-acute care providers to furnish standard assessment data, with the goal of enabling better quality oversight and producing Medicare payment reform. The Senate Finance and House Ways and Means committees on Tuesday introduced companion versions of the “Improving Medicare Post-Acute Care Transformation […]
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission’s latest report to Congress was submitted Friday with previously known recommendations for payment levels. Included in the report is a body of research indicating that long-term care providers are showing progress in quality improvement activities. Potentially avoidable hospital readmissions dropped 1% during the study period of 2011-2012, which is the first decline […]