Healthcare, Senior Living, Economics
I pay close attention to economic trends and to the health care industry in general, as the same are applicable. One trend I’m watching quite closely is business consolidation and mergers/affiliations. In the general economy, a lot of consolidation is occurring post-pandemic. Restaurants are closing outlets (Red Lobster, Krispy Kreme, Burger King, etc.), retail outlets … Read more
The first quarter is now in the books (so to speak) and the trend for senior housing remains about the same, a little better but not back to pre-pandemic levels. With a softening real estate market principally due to low inventory levels and high interest rates (by comparison to the past ten years), we are … Read more
‘Tis the season for CMS to release updated payment and program rules for providers under Medicare. In the past week or so, we’ve seen releases for Hospice and Inpatient Rehab Facilities. A couple of days ago, CMS released the proposed 2024 rules/updates for SNFs (skilled nursing). The fact sheet for the release is available here: … Read more
Just about a week ago, CMS released their proposed payment rule for hospices, effective for the Federal Fiscal Year of 2024, beginning October 1, 2023. As readers likely know, these proposed rules are more than just payment rates, incorporating certain regulatory requirements that pertain to the program and Medicare participation (for providers). The rules are … Read more
There is a common business axiom, one I have used/repeated many times over: “You can’t save yourself to a profit(able business)”. In health care and in senior living/senior housing, challenges abound and almost daily, new ones arrive. Staffing is incredibly challenging, supply costs are rising, inflationary pressures have increased utility costs, investment portfolios are beat-up … Read more
As I mentioned in the prior two posts, litigation activity is on the increase, post-COVID, and some of the most fertile ground for plaintiff’s counsel is Assisted Living. SNFs are still as targeted but as stays decrease and facilities improve care capability, the trend remains level, for the most part. Where perhaps, Assisted Living and … Read more
Following up from my last post regarding staffing and litigation risks, this post concentrates on “what we know” and “what we can control”. For example, what we know is that there simply is not enough staff (clinical and even non-clinical) to fill a provider’s vacant positions. The world in general knows this and the press, … Read more
Not sure how many folks caught this brief article in McKnight’s….The article link is just below. https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mcknights.com%2Fnews%2Fplaintiffs-lawyers-gaining-edge-against-nursing-home-with-staffing-issues%2F%3Futm_source%3Dnewsletter%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_campaign%3DNWLTR_MLT_DAILYUPDATE_0329823%26hmEmail%3DIjP1GPaY%252BJ2uvsLxTJ79bVeRWY7ycbnr%26sha256email%3Daa4cb7c695037c31a216b9562788596b6fcd012145d566f31440b6fcd139c8a9&data=05%7C01%7C%7Cbc9c24d5cbe1440a07e908db314a2be7%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C638157966865063653%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=nvzAvsPBAwKo34DvYAWOf%2Fo5C0URgGaP4msv1jIubGk%3D&reserved=0 Post COVID, all of health care faced a seismic shift in staffing levels. COVID caused wide-spread disengagement in a labor force (clinical) already stressed in numbers. Retirements, especially of nurses, exploded. As COVID abated and the economy began … Read more
Absent a bit, I’ve been. COVID, a crazy health care landscape, new work, new engagements, tons happening and happened. Suffice to say though, the content is coming back. There are a few updates to this site. All (almost) of the old content remains. Browse as you wish. While over time, some content has become a … Read more
One quarter (three months and change) down and PDPM appears to be mostly positive for SNFs. CMS is reporting a higher average per diem payment level than under RUGs. Despite some added coding complexity, paperwork burdens are down for providers (two MDS’ during most stays now vs. many under RUGs). Anecdotally, the industry is seeing … Read more