[02/07/13]
Posted on February 7, 2013 in Long-Term Care, Home Health & Hospice
Written by: Selby, Todd J.
In 2003, two fires in long-term care facilities resulted in 31 resident deaths. As a result of these two events, CMS analyzed the fire safety precautions in place in these facilities and determined that resident safety could be greatly improved by requiring that all long-term care facilities have automatic sprinkling systems installed throughout the... READ MORE
Tags: bufford, cms, extension, fire, long term care, Medicare, nursing home, provider, regulation, resident, selby, skilled nursing facility, snf, sprinkler
[07/09/12]
Posted on July 9, 2012 in Long-Term Care, Home Health & Hospice
Written by: Bufford, David W.
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) released a report this morning detailing issues found in the use of antipsychotics in nursing facilities. Utilizing a sample of records from January through June of 2007, the OIG found over 99% of records reviewed failed to meet one or more Federal requirements. READ MORE
Tags: abuse, antipsychotic, assessment, bufford, care, care plan, cms, federal, jent, long term care, medicaid, Medicare, nf, noncompliance, nursing home, oig, reduce, regulation, reimbursement, report, resident, selby, skilled nursing facility, snf
[07/06/12]
Posted on July 6, 2012 in Long-Term Care, Home Health & Hospice
Written by: Bufford, David W.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) just released the 2012 Nursing Home Action Plan; a guide for CMS’ efforts to continue to improve nursing home safety and quality. The plan features 5 actionable strategies, including: enhance consumer engagement; strengthen survey processes, standards, and enforcement; promote quality improvement; create strategic approaches through partnerships; and... READ MORE
Tags: 2012 lsc, ACA, action plan, antipsychotic, assessment, bufford, cmp, cms, congress, consumer, feeding tube, hha, Home Health, idr, improvement, jent, long term care, lsc, medicaid, Medicare, nf, nursing home, nursing home compare, oig, qapi, quality, regulation, selby, skilled nursing facility, snf, survey, tags
[10/11/11]
Posted on October 11, 2011 in Long-Term Care, Home Health & Hospice
Written by: Selby, Todd J.
On October 5, 2011, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) published its proposed Work Plan for Fiscal Year 2012. As in the past, the Work Plan continues to identify compliance risk areas that subject Medicare and Medicaid providers to audit and enforcement initiatives. The 2012 Work Plan contains several new areas of focus by... READ MORE
Tags: cms, hall render, Home Health, Hospice, Litigation and Risk Management, long term care, Medicare, oig, skilled nursing facility, snf, work plan
[09/08/11]
Posted on September 8, 2011 in Long-Term Care, Home Health & Hospice
Written by: Selby, Todd J.
Yesterday, CMS sent a new transmittal to the state survey agencies on the use of feeding tubes in nursing homes. In short, F321 has been combined into F322 and according the CMS the changes were made to provide nursing home surveyors with guidance to determine compliance with use of feeding tubes by nursing homes. ... READ MORE
Tags: bufford, cms, enrollment, F321, F322, feeding tube, Home Health, interpretive guideline, jent, Litigation and Risk Management, long term care, medicaid, Medicaid/Medicare Enrollment and Regulatory Compliance, Medicare, nursing facility, nursing home, regulations, selby, skilled nursing facility, wage index
[08/28/11]
Posted on August 28, 2011 in Long-Term Care, Home Health & Hospice
Written by: Bufford, David W.
CMS recently published a Survey & Certification Memorandum (S&C:11-35-NH) detailing progress in the implementation of Section 6121 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Section 6121 of the ACA mandates enhanced nurse aide training in nursing homes. The enhanced training focuses on two areas: 1) how to care for residents with dementia, and 2) how... READ MORE
Tags: 6121, abuse, ACA, appendix PP, bufford, care, cms, dementia, f497, interpretive guideline, jent, long term care, Medicaid/Medicare Enrollment and Regulatory Compliance, nf, nurse aide, nursing facility, nursing home, PPACA, prevent, resident, selby, skilled, skilled nursing facility, snf, tag, training
[08/13/11]
Posted on August 13, 2011 in Long-Term Care, Home Health & Hospice
Written by: Bufford, David W.
Earlier this week, we highlighted the implementation by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) of enrollment revalidations and screening categories, and which categories CMS places certain long-term care providers. It is important for providers and suppliers to understand what each screening category (limited, moderate, or high) entails and be aware of any events... READ MORE
Tags: 10 years, ACA, accountable care, assisted living, billing, bufford, cah, clinic, clinical laboratories, cms, database, dmepos, enrollment, excluded, fbi, final adverse action, fingerprint, group, hha, high, Home Health, home health agency, Hospice, hospital, initial enrollment, jent, license, limited, long term care, MAC, medicaid, Medicaid/Medicare Enrollment and Regulatory Compliance, Medicare, mental health, moderate, moratorium, new practice location, nursing home, oig, on site, on-site visit, payment, physcian, PPACA, practitioner, recertification, reimbursement, Rural Health, screening, selby, skilled nursing facility, snf, suspension, therapy, visit
[07/29/11]
Posted on July 29, 2011 in Long-Term Care, Home Health & Hospice
Written by: Bufford, David W.
Effective fiscal year (FY) 2012, The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) final rule on Prospective Payment System and Consolidated Billing for Skilled Nursing Facilities for FY 2012, released July 29, reduces Medicare skilled nursing facility (SNF) Prospective Payment System (PPS) payments by 11.1%. CMS states this action was taken to “better align... READ MORE
Tags: ACA, Affordable Care Act, bufford, case mix index, change of therapy, classification, cmi, cms, consolidated billing, COT, final rule, fy 2011, fy 2012, jent, long term care, market basket, Medicaid/Medicare Enrollment and Regulatory Compliance, Medicare, omra, other medicare required assessment, payment, PPACA, pps, recalibration, reduction, rug, rug-iv, selby, skilled nursing facility, snf, spike, therapy
