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

Sr. Living, Litigation and COVID Implications

On Friday, I wrote about the explosion of COVID litigation in health care and senior living, especially that which is challenging federal immunity under the PREP Act and cases challenging insurance coverage for business interruption coverage resultant from COVID remediation policies (business closure, school closures, vaccine requirements, etc.). Today’s post is a bit more focused … 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

Value-Based Care: Why it Matters, or Should, for Post-Acute Providers

Value-Based Care is kind of a vogue term, one that I encounter quite often. I also have used it when speaking or writing and know most people have no idea what it means or how it can be developed and/or applied. Value-based care is not a new concept. Medicare tried a foray into it back … Read more

How Much is Enough? Deficits, Debt, and a Look Into the Future

Lately, I’ve gotten quite a bit of 70s (1970s) deja vu. Yes, I’m old enough to vividly remember the 70s as I crossed the decade as a teenager, graduating high school and almost, college. If one has my memories, the 70s were pretty turbulent times, analogous to now. In 1973, Israel and the Arab (Egypt … Read more

SNF Industry Update

Every year, the accounting firm of Clifton Larson Allen (CLA) produces an industry trends report based on accumulated cost report data. The report provides a good snapshot of the nursing home industry, nationwide, with insights on regions and states.  The report is available here: 38th-snf-cost-comparison-and-industry-trends-report As I’ve written on numerous posts on this site, the … Read more

Twofer Tuesday: Jimmo and Staffing Mandates

Happy Hump Day eve! There is so much going on right now with the economy, government shutdown (whew, avoided that one for a bit) dynamics, election news, and health policy that it is becoming difficult to parse topics into stuff of value. Hopefully, a couple of quick updates will make room for more insightful analysis … Read more

Friday (and Weekend) Feature: A Bit Tardy

Busy week and so, I got a tad behind. Lots of news to run through this weekend from health policy stuff (new MDS next week), to updated numbers on SNF staffing mandates, some new info. on the Jimmo case (ten years ago) and Medicare denials, and some economic data from yesterday and today (mixed bag … Read more

Quality and Quantity of Life for Seniors, in Senior Housing

Since my first years in senior housing and health care, and my work way back when with Alwyn Powell (AV Powell, AV Powell and Associates), I have been fascinated by the aging journey in care settings – lengths of stay, health care utilization, quality of life and quantity of life. I’ve supported numerous research studies … Read more

Leadership and 1776

Not too long ago, I had a conversation with a young, upcoming executive. I’ve known her for a number of years beginning when she attended a conference (and presentation) that I spoke at. She’s a future “rock star” if she chooses to be (bright, well-spoken, organized, etc.). She asked me, “What’s the number one thing … Read more