Home Health 2024 Final Rule Released

On November 1, CMS issued the final PPS rule for Home Health (2024). The majority of provisions within this rule, especially those related to payment, take effect on January 1, 2024. The Final Rule as published is available for download here: Home Health 2024 Final Rule In July I wrote a post on the proposed … Read more

CMS Offers Fix to Medicare Advantage Denials

An issue that has been tied to AI (artificial intelligence) and specifically, to Medicare Advantage plans, involves coverage denials. I wrote about this in a post earlier this year at https://rhislop3.com/2023/05/01/medicare-advantage-part-d-final-rule/ Coverage denials have been a fairly hot topic around Medicare Advantage plans. The core of the issue is that Medicare Advantage plans are required … Read more

Friday Feature: Senior Living Investment Outlook

TGIF! On a calendar year basis, we are into the home stretch for 2023. It’s generally about now that I start looking at how 2024 is shaping up. What trends are there to watch? What do markets look like now, socially and economically? What does policy and politics tell us about the year to come? … Read more

SNF Staffing, Mandates, and More

Seema Verma, former CMS head, spoke out yesterday regarding the proposed staffing mandate (hours and type of staff, per resident per day) proposed rule, indicating her opinion that the approach was flawed. A recap article on her comments is here: https://www.mcknights.com/news/former-cms-chief-verma-regulators-over-their-skis-with-staffing-mandate/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=NWLTR_MLT_DAILYUPDATE_110223&hmEmail=IjP1GPaY%2BJ2uvsLxTJ79bVeRWY7ycbnr&sha256email=aa4cb7c695037c31a216b9562788596b6fcd012145d566f31440b6fcd139c8a9 Regular readers know that I have covered various topics on healthcare staffing, particularly as … Read more

Mish-Mash Monday

A new week and lots of data/info. coming on a variety of fronts. Today’s post is less about one thing and more about a few things, a bit of smorgasbord to start the week. State by State SNF Data/CLA: Back at the start of the month, I wrote a post on the state of the SNF … Read more

Friday Feature: Important COVID Criminal Case Dismissed

Ten days ago, I wrote a post about COVID litigation and how it was not only mounting but also morphing in terms of scope. Cases were predominantly focused on responsibility for infections at the senior living end such as, my ‘family member’ caught COVID at XYZ Manor and died, so therefore XYZ Manor is responsible … Read more

Boomers and Senior Living: What to Expect

There is a constant discussion within the senior housing/senior living industry about the impact Baby Boomers will have on the industry. Their numbers (boomers) are huge (hence the name, “boomers”). The Baby Boom generation name is reflective of the post-WWII period of 1946 to 1964. During this period, families grew rapidly having two or more … Read more

Sr. Living M&A Update – Third Quarter

This topic fits a line from the old police serials of my younger days. These are the favorites I watched religiously like Adam-12, the Rookies, The FBI, etc. The line, generally at a crime scene: Move on folks, nothing to see here. That line fits today’s topic. The mid-year report illustrated softness in activity principally … Read more

Real Estate Sales Report – News Worsens for CCRCs/Life Plan Communities

With occupancy rebounding to pre-pandemic levels and demand remaining strong, CCRCs/Life Plan Communities continue to face economic headwinds from capitalizing on improving market conditions. Capital costs continue to rise making borrowing money a challenge or alternatively, perhaps adding additional debt service costs if existing debt is variable. Accessing capital is nearly imperative for most CCRCs/Life … Read more

Twofer Thursday: Staffing Litigation and a Bit More on Medicare Advantage Plans

Today’s post is a bit of a hybrid. I’m trying to keep up with a bunch of things ranging from policy to economics (Jerome Powell speech today) to some work stuff so I’m combining two things today that probably, deserve a bit more dissection, but this will do for now. Plus, I’m hopeful that tomorrow … Read more