Articles and Blogs

With the October 1, 2014 deadline for ICD-10 compliance looming, many providers might have been holding out in hope that the implementation would again be delayed.  However, Marilyn Tavenner, the administrator of CMS, stated today that there will be no further delays for ICD-10 and the system will go live October 1. READ MORE

While hospices are required to ensure that substantially all core hospice services, including nursing services, are performed by hospice employees, hospices have been permitted to utilize contracted staff members to supplement hospice employees during periods of peak patient loads or extraordinary circumstances. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) agrees the nation-wide shortage of hospice nurses has... READ MORE

This Thursday, June 28, 2012, the United States Supreme Court will decide the fate of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, aka “Obamacare.” In so doing, it may also make significant changes in one of the newest and most complicated amendments the False Claims Act, with results that are almost impossible to predict.... READ MORE

While Congress was able to present the President with a compromised solution to cut Federal spending and raise the Government’s debt ceiling earlier this month, all long-term care providers should anticipate future reimbursement changes.  Under the current law, the Budget Control Act of 2011t , Medicare and Medicaid are unchanged. However, the Act requires for... READ MORE