Category: Policy and Politics – Federal

CMS Staffing Rule Review After the Reversal

Policy and Politics - Federal

CMS Staffing Rule Review Post Reversal

CMS staffing rule review: what its reversal means for senior care quality, reimbursement, workforce policy, and operator strategy for 2026 nationwide….
Top Regulatory Compliance Risks in Healthcare

Home Health

Top Regulatory Compliance Risks in Healthcare

Top regulatory compliance risks are reshaping healthcare strategy. See where senior living and post-acute leaders face the greatest exposure this year….
Hospice Quality Measures Are Now a Strategy Test

Hospice

Hospice Quality Measures and Strategy

Hospice quality measures now shape payment, oversight, referrals, and reputation. Leaders should treat reporting as an operating and governance priority….
CMS Changes to SNF Quality Measure Thresholds

Policy and Politics - Federal

CMS Changes to SNF Quality Measure Thresholds

CMS changes SNF quality measure thresholds can reshape ratings, reimbursement risk, and survey exposure. Operators need to know what will move and why….
Medicare Advantage vs Traditional Medicare

Health Policy and Economics

Medicare Advantage vs Traditional Medicare

Medicare Advantage vs traditional Medicare is no longer a beneficiary-choice discussion alone. It is a market-structure issue affecting referral patterns, hospital utilization, post-acute length of stay, network access, risk-bearing arrangements, and the financial viability of…

CMS Withholds $1B in Medicaid Payments From CA, MN

Policy and Politics - Federal

CMS Defer $1B in Medicaid Payments to CA, MN

The report that CMS is withholding $1B in Medicaid payments from California and Minnesota is not merely another Washington-versus-state-capital political skirmish. It is a reminder that Medicaid is financed through a conditional partnership, and federal…

CMS Modernizes Nursing Home Oversight With Risk Surveys

Policy and Politics - Federal

CMS Changes SNF Surveys With New Risk Surveys

CMS is launching a streamlined review process for higher-performing nursing homes and making them easier for consumers to find on Medicare.gov. A new Quality, Safety, & Oversight memo outlines the risk-based survey process, which helps…

Post Acute Care Compliance Checklist for 2026

Home Health

Post Acute Care Compliance Checklist for 2026

For years, and littered throughout this site, are pieces (and presentations) I have done on compliance. Some goodies are below. https://rhislop3.com/2023/09/07/five-quality-and-compliance-tips/ https://rhislop3.com/2018/11/16/the-real-impacts-of-poor-quality-inadequate-compliance-and-weak-risk-management/ https://rhislop3.com/2018/11/29/follow-up-real-impacts-of-poor-quality-and-lax-compliance/ https://rhislop3.com/2019/06/14/the-connection-between-quality-and-revenue/ The one major implication of solid (or not) compliance is the…

A Guide to Medicare Site-Neutral Payments

Health Policy and Economics

Update on Medicare Site-Neutral Payments

Earlier this year, in January, I wrote a piece on the start of site-neutral payments via a CMS final rule tied to the Outpatient PPS (OPPS). This post is a follow-up of sorts to the…

Home Health

7 Top Healthcare Policy Risks 2026

Budget math is about to collide with operating reality. When executives ask about the top healthcare policy risks 2026, they are not asking for a Washington headline recap. They are asking which policy moves could…

Picture of Reg

Reg

Healthcare executive, consultant, and author covering post-acute care, senior living, and the economics behind both - for 30+ years.

The Weekly Briffing

No noise - just what changed in healthcare policy and economics, and why it matters to your operation.