Ten months into a new administration, skilled nursing providers still find themselves subject to increasingly burdensome ownership reporting requirements — with few signs that the federal government will stop its campaign to increase transparency and data collection. An often-extended deadline for all providers to report new, expanded information through a formal revalidation process is, at...

The federal government’s move to restrict student loan provisions and take away nursing’s “professional” designation could seriously damage workforce building efforts, nursing leaders say. “The impact it will have on the ability to staff facilities moving forward is just devastating,” said Susan Davis, senior vice president of asset management for Skokie, IL-based Cascade Capital Group....

Months after it secured a Five-Star rating and was widely celebrated for completing its rebound from Medicare decertification, San Francisco’s largest nursing home continues to pay the price for safety and privacy lapses that predated the pandemic. The city and its Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center were set to settle a lawsuit over explicit...

The latest refresh of skilled nursing facilities’ quality data includes the initial public reporting of new patient transfer and vaccination measures, reflecting future emphasis for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. In the Quality Reporting Program, providers must submit 90% of data or risk a 2% payment loss. However, the most recent federal update...

Facing increased fiscal and liability pressures, more US nursing homes are initiating involuntary patient discharges. AARP this week reported that complaints about what it called evictions had increased nationwide, with the National Ombudsman Reporting System seeing an 8.6% increase from 2023 to 2024. In an article advising consumers how to fight “unjust” discharges, the consumer...

In adjusting to new case-mix systems under the Patient Driven Payment Model (PDPM), the changes to reimbursement rates might be more widespread and large-scale than anticipated, posing financing threats to the nursing home sector because lenders are basing loans on rate projections that are expected to be scaled back. The goal of budget neutrality –...

Facilities in Ohio are one step closer to receiving higher Medicaid reimbursements for private nursing home rooms after an executive order signed by Gov. Mike DeWine (R). The Nov. 30 order declares a timing emergency, allowing the Ohio Department of Medicaid to bypass the typical wait period and immediately adopt final rules for providers looking...

The plight of a private-equity backed, multi-state nursing home chain demonstrates the ugly challenges operators could face as officials ratchet up regulatory and transparency pressures and large-scale investors move out of the skilled nursing space. Federal officials have announced they will terminate Medicare payments to Viviant Healthcare of Bristol, TN, on Sunday (Dec. 10). That comes...

At no point along his three-year path to earning a degree in physical therapy has Matthew Lee worried about getting a job. Being able to make a living off that degree? That’s a different question — and the answer is affecting the supply of physical therapists across the nation: The cost of getting trained is...