Long-Term Post-Acute Care

CMS sets minimum staffing standards for nursing homes

April 23, 2024 - A new final rule from CMS establishes minimum staffing standards for nursing homes at a national level for the first time in history. The rule states that nursing homes participating in Medicare and Medicaid must provide residents with a minimum of 3.48 hours of nursing care per day. The new staffing standard includes at least 0.55 hours of care...

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CMS proposes payment increases for IPPS hospitals and LTCHs

by Victoria Bailey

CMS has proposed a 2.6 percent payment rate increase for acute care hospitals paid under the inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS) in FY 2025. The payment update reflects a hospital market...

CMS proposes FY 2025 Medicare payment rates for hospice, IPFs

by Jacqueline LaPointe

CMS proposes a 2.6% hospice payment update for the fiscal year (FY) 2025, which would add about $705 million to payments versus this year. The newly proposed rule (CM-1810-P) states the update comes...

Making ACOs More Accessible for Long-Term and Post-Acute Care Providers

by Victoria Bailey

The American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) and the National Association of ACOs (NAACOS) have released recommendations on how to increase accountable care...

High Nursing Home Staff Turnover Yields Poorer Care Quality

by Victoria Bailey

Higher staff turnover in nursing homes was associated with lower care quality, a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine revealed. Staff and administrator turnover in nursing homes can disrupt...

Only 19% of Nursing Homes Currently Meet Proposed Staffing Standards

by Victoria Bailey

Less than 20 percent of nursing homes currently meet the proposed staffing standards for long-term care facilities, a KFF brief revealed. In September, CMS released a proposed rule with three main...

CMS Proposes Minimum Staffing Standards for Nursing Homes

by Victoria Bailey

CMS has proposed minimum staffing standards for nursing homes, requiring facilities to provide residents with at least three hours of care per day. The Minimum Staffing Standards for Long-Term Care...

Optum to Acquire Home Health, Hospice Provider Amedisys

by Jacqueline LaPointe

Amedisys has announced that it plans to combine with Optum to advance value-based care for its patients. The announcement ends the bidding war that ensued this month when Optum made a surprise...

CMS Announces Start Date for IRF Claims Review Demo

by Jacqueline LaPointe

Inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs) will have their Medicare claims reviewed either before or after payment as part of a demonstration CMS intends to take nationwide. CMS recently announced on...

HHS Sheds Light on Hospice, Home Health Ownership Data

by Jacqueline LaPointe

For the first time, HHS is releasing ownership data on all Medicare-certified hospice and home health agencies in an effort to increase transparency and competition in healthcare. HHS announced...

Proposed Rule to Boost Medicare Inpatient Rehab Payments by 3%

by Jacqueline LaPointe

A new proposed rule from CMS would increase payments to inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs) by $335 million next fiscal year. The draft regulation would also update quality reporting and new...

CMS Proposes 2.8% Medicare Hospice Payment Bump

by Jacqueline LaPointe

Medicare hospice payments could grow by as much as 2.8 percent, or $720 million, next year under a rule recently proposed by CMS. The federal agency released the proposed rule on Friday. It seeks to...

Higher Spending on Nursing Home Staff is Not Tied to Better Staffing Levels

by Victoria Bailey

Nursing homes with higher shares of Medicaid residents directed more revenue toward workers but had lower staffing levels, indicating that a minimum nursing staff expenditure regulation would not...

Long-Term Care ACOs Present an Opportunity for the Most Complex Populations

by Victoria Bailey

Long-term care residents are historically overlooked and require high-cost, complex healthcare services. Accountable care organizations (ACOs) present an opportunity for providers to earn shared savings while improving care quality for...

Minimum Staffing Requirements Could Cost Nursing Homes $10B Annually

by Victoria Bailey

Nursing homes would have to spend up to $10 billion per year and hire almost 188,000 nurses to comply with increased minimum staffing requirements, according to a report from the American Health Care...

Local Post-Acute Care Resources Tied to Hospital Readmissions, Pay

by Jacqueline LaPointe

Hospitals that had more local access to post-acute care services, such as primary care physicians and skilled nursing facility (SNF) beds, had lower thirty-day hospital readmission rates compared to...

Medicare, Medicaid to Take Closer Look at Nursing Home Staffing

by Jacqueline LaPointe

CMS has updated guidance on minimum health and safety standards that long-term care facilities must meet to participate in Medicare and Medicaid. The guidance specifically addresses nursing home...

Patient-Driven Payment Linked to a Decrease in SNF Therapy Utilization

by Sarai Rodriguez

The implementation of the Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM) was associated with a decrease in the volume of rehabilitation therapy utilization, according to a study published in JAMA...

Private Equity Nursing Homes Linked to Lower Quality, Higher Costs

by Sarai Rodriguez

According to a JAMA Health Forum study, nursing homes acquired by private equity firms have been associated with lower quality long-term care and higher Medicare costs in comparison to for-profit...

Skilled Nursing Facilities Facing a Financial Crisis from COVID-19

by Jacqueline LaPointe

Skilled nursing facilities are on the verge of collapsing due to historic underfunding and the financial repercussion of the COVID-19 crisis, according to a new report from the American Health Care...

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