Nursing Assistants = Supply Shortage

Nursing assistants are anticipated to experience the largest projected shortfall among all healthcare occupations analyzed, with an expected national shortage exceeding 73,000 assistants by 2028. This projection is based on a report by Mercer, which also predicts a nationwide deficit of over 100,000 healthcare workers by the same year. The demand for nursing assistants is … Read more

Phantom Diseases and Medicare Advantage Fraud

According to a Wall Street Journal article from August 4, Medicare Advantage plans are using home nurse visits to identify possible or questionable disease states/conditions (so called, phantom diseases) via screenings.  These diagnoses then turn into what appears to be, possible events of fraud via additional reimbursement tied to these new-found conditions. Exclusive | The … Read more

Final Independent Contractor Rule: Implications for Health Care

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

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