Friday Feature: Four Topics to Watch

It has been a busy week and next week is a holiday week (Thanksgiving) so of course, a shortened news and work week. That said, there is a lot going on right now and for followers and readers, I thought sharing my top four topics to watch made sense. Tort Reform: Back in February, the Georgia … Read more

SCOTUS Chevron Decision a Win for Healthcare

Last week, the Supreme Court discarded a longstanding doctrine that granted regulatory agencies, such as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, extensive leeway to establish regulations for the organizations under their jurisdiction. The decision (majority opinion) in the case of Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo is available here: SCOTUS Chevron Ruling The decision overturns a … Read more

CMS Releases 2025 PPS Proposed Rule for SNFs

It’s that time of year again where CMS begins to drop various rule proposals for updates to provider groups under PPS. From Hospitals, to SNFs, to Home Health and Hospice, each industry segment will see a proposed series of rate and programmatic (rule) updates from CMS. This is normal and it occurs at about the … Read more

Friday Feature: Regulatory Shake-Up – 20 States Revamp Assisted Living Laws in 2022 – 2023

TGIF! Greetings from the great white northland! ‘Tis January and Iowa Caucus time and of course, winter settles in. In the rapidly evolving landscape of Assisted Living, it is crucial for states to adapt and refine their regulations to ensure the safety and well-being of residents. Between July 2022 and July 2023, a total of … Read more

COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness: Redux

As COVID-19 has moved to an endemic phase (constant presence, not spreading out of control or taxing health care resources), I’ve started to look back at what transpired since early-2020 and what was learned, known, and now, embedded (perhaps) in our culture and our health care industry. Suffice to say, the review is somewhat mind … Read more

Wednesday Feature: CMS Targeting 400 Hospices for Administrative Action

Usually I try to add some “light and levity” to my Wednesday features as the content on this site is pretty heavy health policy and economics, regulatory in nature, etc. In my work, my usual Wednesday messages internally are “fun” – a bit of Hump Day humor or whimsy. By title of this post, readers … Read more

Staffing Level Mandate – Update

In this year’s final rule (PPS) for SNFs, CMS indicated that it would delineate proposals for final rule making this spring regarding mandated staffing levels. In the 2023 Final Rule, CMS solicited comment regarding staffing level mandates. In yesterday’s post on labor and job data, I covered how incomplete the staffing picture remained for senior … Read more

May 11 and PHE: Provider Alert

On May 11, the COVID Public Health Emergency (PHE) is set to end and along with it, a whole slew of requirements end or change, and regulatory waivers applicable to the Public Health Emergency, the same (ending). The end of the PHE will have positive and negative impacts on providers of all types though some … Read more

New SNF Conditions of Participation: Implementation Timeframes

About ten days ago, I published a post regarding the new Federal Conditions of Participation for SNFs.  This long awaited regulatory update includes new, revised, and existing regulations published in final rule form last week (October 4).  The post is here for reference http://wp.me/ptUlY-kL The questions frequently asked regarding the new CoPs (since release) are around implementation dates.  As readers will note, whether … Read more

CMS Releases Proposed New SNF Rule

Concurrent with the White House Conference on Aging, CMS released its “proposed” rules of reform for the SNF Conditions of Participation.  The proposed rule is set for publication tomorrow in the Federal Register but readers with interest can access the document/PDF on this site on the “Reports and Other Documents” page.  The Federal Conditions of Participation … Read more