Articles and Blogs

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) announced today the contract suppliers for Round 2 and the national mail-order program of the Medicare Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics and Supplies (“DMEPOS”) Competitive Bidding Program. As of April 9, 2013, there are 799 suppliers that have been awarded contracts in this round, and these contracts will affect... READ MORE

During yesterday’s Open Door Forum, Jeanette Kranacs, the Director of the Division of Institutional Post-Acute Care for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) commented that CMS will not be issuing instructions to surveyors on evaluating compliance and ethics programs until the regulations have been promulgated.  CMS was required to have final regulations and various tools in place as of... READ MORE

On March 19, 2013, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (“CMS”) Final Rule regarding notification and relocation requirements for closing a long-term care (“LTC”) facility was published in the Federal Register. Under the new requirements, 60 days prior to the closure of an LTC facility, the administrator must provide written notice to the... READ MORE

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission’s (“MedPAC”) recent Report to Congress included a chapter dedicated to skilled nursing facilities (“SNFs”), which MedPAC reports received $31 billion in Medicare reimbursement in 2011.  Recently, SNFs have been under pressure from repeated reimbursement cuts; however, MedPAC’s analysis states that SNF reimbursement is adequate.   READ MORE

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission’s (“MedPAC”) March 25th Report to Congress outlines inefficiencies they believe exist in the post-acute world and lead to excessive Medicare payments to providers. MedPAC recommendations include Congress evaluate post-acute provider reimbursement and encourage use of the lowest cost mix of services necessary to achieve the best outcomes. READ MORE

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”), in the March 8, 2013 Memorandum, issued new guidance specifying those tasks that can and cannot be delegated in skilled nursing facilities (“SNFs”) and nursing facilities (“NFs”).  Physicians who improperly assign tasks to non-physician practitioners (“NPPs”) jeopardize the SNFs’ and NFs’ compliance with federal and state... READ MORE

Based on additional feedback, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has revised the surveyor guidance issued in September 2012 on Naso-Gastric Tubes (NG Tubes) for F-Tag F322.  Since the NG Tube regulation, §483.25(g), was published, the use of NG Tubes has become increasingly rare in favor of other forms of enteral feeding... READ MORE

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has unofficially announced it will not be enforcing the upcoming March 23rd compliance program requirements until final regulations are published.  As required under the Affordable Care Act, nursing facilities are required to have a compliance program in place by March 23, 2013.  Despite ambiguity in the actual statute,... READ MORE

The Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) is seeking comments on a draft guidance entitled “Design Considerations for Devices Intended for Home Use.”  The draft guidance urges manufacturers to “design out” product risks and consider usability and training for medical devices intended for use in a home environment.  The deadline for submitting comments on the... READ MORE

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