Articles and Blogs

Skilled nursing facilities (“SNFs”) are facing many challenges as their residents and staff encounter COVID-19 diagnosis, care and testing. During the COVID-19 pandemic, CMS and state departments of health have issued and revised interim final regulations, waivers, quality care directives, orders and multiple guidance memos. In early June 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice... READ MORE

The Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) updated its Provider Relief Fund Frequently Asked Questions (“FAQs”). The latest revisions are dated May 26 and 29, 2020 and June 2, 2020 and include new FAQs and modifications to existing FAQs. A Hall Render alert on those revisions and updates is here. HHS added FAQs... READ MORE

Skilled nursing facilities (“SNFs”) have two new areas of focus from the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) – infection control and tracking their use of CARES Act provider relief funds. OIG Work Plan Update: Infection Control Recently, the OIG updated its Work Plan, to add audit of... READ MORE

The Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) announced that it will begin to deliver nearly $4.9 billion from the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Provider Relief Fund (sometimes referred to as the CARES Act Provider Relief Fund) on May 22, 2020 to skilled nursing facilities (“SNFs”). Purpose? HHS intends for SNFs to... READ MORE

States like Indiana, Connecticut and Maine are offering to pay nursing homes a higher per diem for COVID-19 presumptive residents or a higher percentage reimbursement rate if a nursing home qualifies as a “COVID-19 ready” facility, as discussed in our recent article here. As nursing homes assess, plan for and take actions to qualify... READ MORE

Nursing homes face possible fines and the need to navigate F-Tags as they embark on the new COVID-19 reporting requirements to the CDC. On May 6, 2020, the Quality, Safety & Oversight Group at CMS issued a memorandum entitled “Interim Final Rule Updating Requirements for Notification of Confirmed and Suspected COVID-19 Cases Among Residents... READ MORE

On April 30, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) released 279 pages of interim final regulations to add a new provision at 42 CFR 483.80(g)(1), to require facilities to electronically report to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) information about COVID-19 in a standardized format specified by CMS. What... READ MORE

Visitation, residents leaving and returning, telephone surveys, hospitalized patients being discharged to a nursing home and other issues have been challenging for skilled nursing facilities (“SNFs”) and nursing facilities (“NFs”) (in this alert, SNFs and NFs are collectively Long‑Term Care Facilities “LTC Facilities”) as they navigate the evolving government guidance. On April 24, 2020,... READ MORE

The reporting and disclosure of COVID-19 positive cases have been a hot button issue for nursing homes (“NHs”). On April 19, 2020, the Quality, Safety & Oversight Group at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued a memorandum entitled “Upcoming Requirements for Notification of Confirmed COVID-19 (or COVID‑19 Persons under Investigation) Among Residents... READ MORE

April 16, 2020 is National Healthcare Decisions Day. The goal of the day is to encourage Americans to think and talk about their health care goals and communicate their health care decisions by executing advance health care directives. Studies indicate that most Americans have not executed documents that name a health care decisionmaker or... READ MORE