The long term care community expressed optimism that the new interim administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Marilyn Tavenner, will be a leader they can work with on issues vital to the industry. President Obama nominated Tavenner, formerly chief operating officer and principal deputy administrator of CMS, to become administrator of the agency after Donald Berwick, MD, resigned effective Dec. 2.

Long term care providers got a victory in November when Congress repealed the 3 percent withholding tax mandate to allow businesses, including skilled nursing facilities, to utilize all payments on products and services made by government units.

The American Health Care Association commissioned The Moran Co. to perform an independent analysis of national nursing facility margins to show the most recent performance of the nursing home industry. The analysis is based on the most recent Medicare cost reports for fiscal years ending in 2009 filed by nursing facilities that participate in the Medicare program and includes revenue from all payers for nursing facility services and total expenses.

State Medicaid plans across the country are laying the groundwork for introducing managed care into their long term care programs, spurred by federal initiatives to integrate care and funding for the segment of enrollees known as “dual eligibles.” These beneficiaries, who qualify for both Medicaid and Medicare benefits, have become a focal point for savings and other policy reforms due to their high costs and complex medical needs.

Medicare beneficiaries and their families have filed a class-action lawsuit against the federal government to stop the “observation stay” process that the group says deprives beneficiaries of Medicare Part A coverage for their hospital stay and after care in post-acute care facilities.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in October released a final rule for establishing Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), replacing key parts of its much-scorned ACO draft rule proposal with more financial enticements and a reduction in the number of quality measures in the plan.

Attempts to cut Medicaid now would be akin to cutting the Federal Emergency Management Agency during a disastrous storm, said Tim Westmoreland, a Georgetown University law professor and former director of Medicaid for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), speaking at a Hill briefing on Nov. 10.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced new awards totaling $9 million from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to help Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) programs fight Medicare fraud.

The Senate Special Committee on Aging examined what its chairman believes is a dangerous situation in U.S. nursing homes with residents being prescribed antipsychotic drugs for off-label uses at too high of a rate, leading to possible health concerns and acting as a cost burden to the Medicare program. Committee Chairman Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) convened the hearing in the wake of a report released this past spring by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) on Medicare Atypical Antipsychotic Drug Claims for Elderly Nursing Home Residents (OEI-07-08-00150).

The head of the Medicare program told lawmakers earlier on Thursday that the changes being implemented through the Affordable Care Act are making a difference for the nation’s seniors, and expected even more positive change with the advent of Accountable Care Organizations and payment reforms.

The long term care community expressed optimism that the new interim administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Marilyn Tavenner, will be a leader they can work with on issues vital to the industry. President Obama nominated Tavenner, formerly chief operating officer and principal deputy administrator of CMS, to become administrator of the agency after Donald Berwick, MD, resigned effective Dec. 2.

Long term care providers got a victory in November when Congress repealed the 3 percent withholding tax mandate to allow businesses, including skilled nursing facilities, to utilize all payments on products and services made by government units.

The American Health Care Association commissioned The Moran Co. to perform an independent analysis of national nursing facility margins to show the most recent performance of the nursing home industry. The analysis is based on the most recent Medicare cost reports for fiscal years ending in 2009 filed by nursing facilities that participate in the Medicare program and includes revenue from all payers for nursing facility services and total expenses.

State Medicaid plans across the country are laying the groundwork for introducing managed care into their long term care programs, spurred by federal initiatives to integrate care and funding for the segment of enrollees known as “dual eligibles.” These beneficiaries, who qualify for both Medicaid and Medicare benefits, have become a focal point for savings and other policy reforms due to their high costs and complex medical needs.

Medicare beneficiaries and their families have filed a class-action lawsuit against the federal government to stop the “observation stay” process that the group says deprives beneficiaries of Medicare Part A coverage for their hospital stay and after care in post-acute care facilities.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in October released a final rule for establishing Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), replacing key parts of its much-scorned ACO draft rule proposal with more financial enticements and a reduction in the number of quality measures in the plan.

Attempts to cut Medicaid now would be akin to cutting the Federal Emergency Management Agency during a disastrous storm, said Tim Westmoreland, a Georgetown University law professor and former director of Medicaid for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), speaking at a Hill briefing on Nov. 10.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced new awards totaling $9 million from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to help Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) programs fight Medicare fraud.

The Senate Special Committee on Aging examined what its chairman believes is a dangerous situation in U.S. nursing homes with residents being prescribed antipsychotic drugs for off-label uses at too high of a rate, leading to possible health concerns and acting as a cost burden to the Medicare program. Committee Chairman Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) convened the hearing in the wake of a report released this past spring by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) on Medicare Atypical Antipsychotic Drug Claims for Elderly Nursing Home Residents (OEI-07-08-00150).

The head of the Medicare program told lawmakers earlier on Thursday that the changes being implemented through the Affordable Care Act are making a difference for the nation’s seniors, and expected even more positive change with the advent of Accountable Care Organizations and payment reforms.