Home Health

Senate vote keeps delay for sequestration cuts on track

A bill to delay 2% across-the-board Medicare payment cuts is heading back to the House after a key vote of support in the Senate on Thursday, March 25. Even though the signing of the bill will likely be delayed until mid-April, the 90-2 vote in the Senate will likely mean current Medicare payment rates will …

Skilled Nursing Facility

CMS releases updated Medicare COVID-19 snapshot

Updated COVID-19 snapshot data reveals that more than 2.7 million Medicare beneficiaries were diagnosed with COVID-19, and nearly 700,000 beneficiaries were hospitalized with COVID-19, between January 1, 2020 to December 26, 2020. Highlights from the latest snapshot include: Since the last snapshot released in January 2021, COVID-19 cases increased by more than 790,000 and hospitalizations …

Featured Podcast

Compliance tips for 2021

Industry expert Reg Hislop joins us to talk about top compliance issues for SNFs in 2021. Be sure to check out our deep dive into this topic on a May 11th webinar for Skilled Nursing Week.

Private Duty

FMLA is Required HR Knowledge

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave is a more complex topic than it may seem. Basically, for any eligible employee at a covered employer, up to 12 weeks of leave must be provided each year for a qualifying event or events. This may seem fairly straightforward, but administering FMLA leave can be fairly complicated. …

Home Health

CMS updates emergency preparedness survey guidance and pandemic best practices

CMS released updated guidance for surveyors related to emergency preparedness requirements on Friday, March 26, incorporating changes to the rules in recent years and lessons learned from the pandemic. The “Updated Guidance for Emergency Preparedness – Appendix Z of the State Operations Manual” detailed changes made through the Burden Reduction Rule (84 FR 51732) in …

PPS Alert for Long-Term Care

Avoiding lawsuits in your SNF

SNFs have long been vulnerable to lawsuits, and the COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated the risk. Despite certain immunities put in place during the pandemic, SNFs are still at risk of civil suits brought by residents, families, and even staff and vendors, due in large part to the fact that nursing home residents account for approximately 40% of COVID-19 deaths in the United States, explains Todd Selby, attorney at Hall Render Killian Heath & Lyman.