Healthcare, Senior Living, Economics
Information and discussion on general federal health policy and politics – including Medicare, Health Reform and all other subjects Fed.
TGIF! A report I get and enjoy comes from Altarum (a non-profit consulting organization) looking at various economic data elements with regard to healthcare spending across a number of metrics (percent of GDP, time series growth, etc.). Granted, the report is a bit “wonky” but given what I do for a living, “wonky” is kind … Read more
An issue that I have been interested in for most of my career is coordinated care, especially in terms of older adults who utilize the most care resources and typically, have multiple providers (physicians in particular). Fragmented, uncoordinated care is the primary driver of over-treatment or inefficient treatment. The outcomes of over-treatment include polypharmacy, test … Read more
In January of 2022, a resident with dementia wandered out of her Assisted Living Memory Care facility in Iowa and ultimately, froze to death. The State of Iowa investigation uncovered that the resident wandered outside of the building at 9:30 p.m. the previous night. Her absence went unnoticed for eight hours plus even though the alarm … Read more
Happy Hump Day! Yesterday I wrote about the OIG’s (Department of Health and Human Services) report and focus on CMS’ oversight of state survey agencies. The impetus behind this focus no doubt comes from the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging’s investigation into nursing home survey activities at the state level. The report is available … Read more
Last week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (OIG), issued a report regarding the performance of contracted state agencies with respect to nursing home (SNF) compliance surveys. CMS contracts with state agencies, typically state departments of health or divisions thereto, to perform compliance/regulatory activities (surveys) in nursing homes. The report … Read more
This morning, the Department of Labor issued a final rule interpreting who is and who is not, an independent contractor v. an employee. Contract work in health care has boomed since the pandemic, though even pre-pandemic, the use of contractors (physicians, nurses, therapists, etc.) was on the increase. The final rule is available here: 2024-00067 The … Read more
Two articles in my email caught my attention to start the week. Both have to do with SNF closure risks, one regarding rural facilities and the other regarding staffing challenges. Interesting enough, both cross the same issues for closure, approached however, somewhat differently. I’ve written about this subject for years now yet, attention has only become acute … Read more
TGIF! The U.S. is aging. Its median age is 37.7, just behind China’s median age of 37.9. Comparatively, the U.S. would be considered young in relationship to Japan where the median age is 48.4. While it is true that the Japanese have a longer life expectancy than the average American (84.6 years vs. 77.29 years), … Read more
My work has me very attuned to litigation trends and in particular, COVID litigation. We are just beginning to see COVID litigation coming to a head with some interesting decisions. Within my firm (H2 Healthcare, LLC), is a practice focus headed by my wife. It involves clinical compliance and complex litigation support. She is considered one of, if … Read more
Happy First Hump Day of 2024! Short weeks aren’t really deserving of a Hump Day, but it is officially a Wednesday that is not a holiday in a workweek (though I’m sure many are still off from the Christmas/New Year’s season). Thus, no matter deserved or not, it is my first Wednesday Feature and therefore, … Read more