Medicare, DOJ, Fraud and the Eclipse?

Happy Eclipse Monday! The post title is meant as a bit of fun but there is a bit of relevancy as well. Billing fraud occurs via a process of hiding what actually has transpired (or should have) with the care of a patient. The most typical fraud is overbilling or charging the government for care … Read more

Wednesday Feature: Hospice Proposed Rule for 2025

Happy Hump Day! As I wrote in a post on Monday regarding CMS’ Proposed Rule for SNFs, ’tis the season. This time of year, is when CMS drops proposed changes to reimbursement and other programmatic elements for all provider types, save Home Health which comes a little later (Home Health rate year is calendar year … Read more

Marketing to Fit the Times

Over the years that I have been consulting, writing this blog, contributing to various publications, newsletters, podcasts, etc., I have tried to impress industry folks to stay connected to the current times in terms of marketing. By this I mean, don’t lose sight of what is going on in the world around you, locally, nationally, … Read more

The Politics of Population and Immigration

Followers know that I don’t write much about politics, staying pretty straight-forward on health policy and economics topics. A little diversion occurs today, but honestly, not much. We are after all, in an election cycle and thematically (the title), demographics will be center stage but likely, for the wrong reasons. As I watch the election … Read more

Sign of the Times: Petersen Health Care Files for Bankruptcy

Mid last week, Petersen Health Care, a Peoria, IL based nursing home operator filed for bankruptcy in Delaware. SC Healthcare Holdings LLC, which operates as Petersen Health Care, in federal court filings last Wednesday said it is seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection because of ongoing financial problems partly due to an October ransomware attack and … Read more

Tip-Toeing Through the (Healthcare)Econ Tulips

Bunches (pun intended) of economic data the past two weeks and as readers can tell from the title, I’m getting a little “punchy” with all the data. Anyone about my age should recall a celebrity known as Tiny Tim. His fame, short-lived as it should have been, including playing the Ukulele and signing in a … Read more

Wednesday Feature: Econ Rollercoaster

Happy Hump Day! This will drop before the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee announces its decision on interest rates today. Prediction: Rates will remain unchanged. The Fed will be a bit hawkish however, about rate policy reminding everyone that they are poised, if necessary, to hike rates to fight inflation. Thus, the title for today … Read more

Navigating Uncertainty: The Top Concern for CEOs in 2024

Heading into a rather busy week, I took inventory of stuff to write about this week, trying to organize in case of any other developing news this week, particularly coming out of the Federal Reserve meetings. Personally, though inflation remains a bit sticky and perhaps, even on a slight upward trend due to rising energy … Read more

15 Days to Slow the Spread: Remembered

On March 16, 2020, the Trump Administration released guidelines in response to the COVID-19 outbreak and the corresponding public health emergency. Four years later, much was learned, much was missed, much could have played-out different, and much remains to be reconciled. Today, four years later, we live with economic and societal ramifications from the public … Read more

Analyzing the 2023 Cost of Care Survey: Trends in Long-Term Care Rate Increases

On Tuesday, the Genworth 2023 Cost of Care Survey was released. Year-over-year rate increases in long-term care/senior living ranged from 1% to 10%, depending on the setting (SNF, Assisted Living, etc.). The report is available here: Genworth Cost of Care 2023 The report is interesting though in some ways, a bit misleading as data is … Read more