The Nursing Home Improvement and Accountability Act will improve the quality of care at nursing homes. The legislation will increase safety and maintain the health and well-being of America’s vulnerable adults. The legislation proposes minimum staffing requirements, increases Medicaid funding and bans mandatory pre-dispute arbitration agreements hidden in admission paperwork. HHS would apply the staffing minimums
Medicare is funded by a combination of money. Some paid directly from paychecks and taxes paid by working Americans and their employers. Kaiser Health News had an article on the lack of essential services Medicare actually provides, and the need to expand services. “Traditional” Medicare does not cover many benefits used overwhelmingly by its beneficiaries,
Data on PDPM Skilled Nursing News had a great article explaining how the Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM) is a windfall to nursing homes. The PDPM is the reimbursement change to Medicare for skilled nursing facilities. It took effect in October of 2019 so we have one year of data. However, this has not been a
Cutting Therapy The Trump Administration issued new reimbursement rules that cut funding for therapy to nursing home residents. CMS announced the final rules for physician pay, and cutting physical and occupational therapy payments for nursing homes patients by 9%. Last year, therapy providers took an 8% cut. Lobbyists for the nursing home industry have warned
The Skilled Nursing News reported on a bill that would expand the Special Focus Facilities (SFF) program. The SFF designation applies to facilities with major systemic problems. The worst of the worse. However, Sens. Pat Toomey and Bob Casey, both of Pennsylvania, are calling for expanded oversight of these poorly performing nursing facilities. The problem
Who Pays? McKnight’s reported that CMS will pay for coronavirus treatments. The government’s decision to allow Medicare reimbursement for COVID-19 treatments should be extremely helpful for nursing homes care with symptomatic, positive residents. CMS announced that coverage for the treatment will be available to nursing homes at no cost during the public health emergency. “Nursing
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