skilled
Posted on October 1, 2013 in Long-Term Care, Home Health & Hospice
Written by: Bufford, David W.
Prior to the government shutdown, Representative Jim McDermott of Washington introduced a bill that would end the hospital inpatient requirement for skilled nursing facility (“SNF”) coverage. READ MORE
Posted on March 19, 2013 in Long-Term Care, Home Health & Hospice
Written by: Bufford, David W.
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
Posted on February 6, 2013 in Long-Term Care, Home Health & Hospice
Written by: Bufford, David W.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) requires all skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) and nursing facilities (NFs) to have an effective compliance and ethics program in place by March 23, 2013. Unfortunately, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has failed to publish final regulations covering these programs, as required under PPACA, by... READ MORE
Posted on July 6, 2012 in Long-Term Care, Home Health & Hospice
Written by: Bufford, David W.
In an on-going push to regulate the use of antipsychotic medications in nursing facilities, another piece of legislation has failed to pass Congress. The Senate did not pass a proposed regulation that would have standardized protocols for obtaining informed consent before administering antipsychotics for off-label use. READ MORE
Posted on September 8, 2011 in Long-Term Care, Home Health & Hospice
Written by: Bufford, David W.
CMS released a Survey & Certification letter today providing guidance for nursing homes that desire to utilize on-site gardens to provide fresh produce for residents. After numerous inquiries from facilities, CMS confirmed that residents can benefit from home-grown foods as long as food-borne illness dangers are mitigated to the greatest extent possible. READ MORE
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
