COVID-19 has hit nursing homes hard. CMS and the Trump Administration have no plans to stop the spread. Coronavirus cases in nursing homes surged to an all-time high this week. The uptick is driven by spread of the virus in Sunbelt states. An analysis of federal data shows almost 10,000 cases during the week of July

ABA Special Report highlights systemic failures in nursing homes during COVID-19 pandemic. The American Bar Association Commission on Law and Aging released its July-August 2020 issue of BIFOCAL. The special report is called “Is This a 9/11 Moment for Long-Term Care?,” It features articles and resources to support the elder law community in these unprecedented

Poor Training and Preparation The Cincinnati Enquirer reported that health inspectors caught caregivers at Ohio nursing homes failing to properly wear masks and other protective equipment. These nursing homes are clearly not training these caregivers. Or they do not provide enough personal protective equipment. Poor training and lack of preparation causes lapses in infection control

Testing Needed The nursing home industry is claiming that they need additional money for testing and PPE.  Providers called on Congress for an additional bailout. Money for sufficient testing, PPE and hero pay for workers in the latest relief package. “Our members are spending an average of over $67,000 per month on PPE related to

Conspiracy Nuts? What happened to the Republican Party? It is now full of conspiracy nuts. For example, Marjorie Taylor Greene won the Republican nomination in Georgia. She seems obsessed with uploading videos on Facebook. Greene is outspoken to say the least. She described the 2018 midterms as “an Islamic invasion of our government.” Greene claimed

Nursing homes will receive a 2.2% Medicare pay raise to owners for fiscal 2021. Nursing home operators will receive an aggregate $750 million Medicare pay increase for fiscal year 2021 beginning Oct. 1, 2020. A CMS fact sheet on SNF PPS (CMS-1737-F) can be found here. The final rule for SNF PPS (CMS-1737-F) can be found here. CMS