Healthcare, Senior Living, Economics
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
The beautiful, fascinating thing about health policy in the U.S. is its cycle of evolution. It evolves, sometimes slowly and other times quickly but always, in a progressive (not in the political sense) direction. Providers today can be lulled to sleep (quickly) by the vacuum drone of big policy lectures, webinars, etc., easily thinking for … Read more
In nearly all provider segments of health care, revenue maximization and integrity are directly tied to compliance and quality ratings. In home health, submission of quality data via the OASIS (known as HH CAHPS) is required. Agencies that fail to submit the required data experience reimbursement reductions of 2%. For SNFs, reporting of QRP data … Read more
About ten days ago, I wrote a piece regarding the negative impacts providers can expect (and receive) when quality of care and service combined with vigilance on compliance are not primary in and across their organizations. All too often, I hear companies and organizations that I work with, say they are committed to quality but by deeds, the evidence is … Read more
A number of interesting information drops occurred this past week or so reminding me that from time to time, the obvious isn’t always so obvious. The seniors housing and skilled care industry today is going through a rocky patch. A solid half of the SNF industry is severely hurting or struggling mightily due to Med … Read more
A week from today, I am conducting a webinar on reducing/avoiding unnecessary rehospitalizations. With SNFs just experiencing the VBP impact (Medicare incentive or reduction) starting October 1, this event is extremely timely. I’ll cover the health policy and reimbursement implications regarding rehospitalizations plus new QRP and QM updates. I’ll also touch on PDPM implications. Some great … Read more
Yesterday, CMS began posting the first elements from the Quality Reporting Program. There are five elements that contain data, compared to the national average. Percent of residents developing new or worsening pressure injuries Percent of residents experiencing one or more falls with major injury Percent of residents who had a functional assessment on admission and the … Read more
Beginning yesterday, I’ve been following the news regarding CMS’ annual issuance of Final PPS rules for providers. Of greatest interest is the SNF Final Rule as it includes a completely new payment system, departing from the RUGS IV, therapy-centric system currently in-place. I’ve read through the Final Rule (all 424 mind-numbing pages) and summarized what SNFs … Read more
Late this afternoon, I caught news that CMS will release a number of Final Rules impacting post-acute providers over the next few days. Below is a quick summary of what is known for SNFs. I will update this information as I get access to the Final Rule. PPS rates (manual) to adjust by 2.4% (increase). A … Read more