Skilled Nursing Facility

SNF occupancy reached record low in December

December 2020 saw the lowest SNF occupancy, 71.7%, since the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care began recording data in 2012. The 71.7% occupancy is a sharp decline compared to the 85% occupancy SNFs saw in February of the same year. Despite the vaccination programs, and lower COVID-positivity rates at SNFs, experts warn …

Home Health

Latest OIG audit suggests case-mix reductions a red flag for claim reviews

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) recently announced the results of an audit of Brookdale Home Health. The report came a familiar focus on ambulation, homebound and medical necessity. But there was another important note in the report that puts a fresh emphasis on case mix. The review …

Featured Podcast

Protect your SNF Against Lawsuits

Join attorneys Sean Fahey and Todd Selby as they discuss methods to protect your SNF against lawsuits. Join us on March 15th on an upcoming webinar for a deeper dive on the topic. Register Here

Skilled Nursing Facility

Q&A: Recording use of waivers during the COVID-19 public health emergency

Q: Do we need to submit a formal request to CMS for any of the COVID-19-related waivers to apply? Do we need to keep records or documentation pertaining to which waivers we’ve used and the services they apply to? A: Fortunately, most of the Medicare waivers issued in response to COVID-19 are what are referred …

Home Health

CMS seeking home health grouper beta test participants

CMS recently announced a beta test this summer for the latest update of the Home Health Grouper software. The beta test period will be from June 28 through July 16. Following the test, the grouper update should be released in October. Beta test participants will be expected to create test cases to review the items …

PPS Alert for Long-Term Care

Review and refresh quality measures and QAPI plans

Facilities must extend their investigative processes in order to fix quality problems. Implementing solutions could lead to better survey outcomes, higher quality ratings, and more favorable reimbursement models. Therefore, facility staff members need to understand the components of performance improvement, always striving for better resident outcomes and better processes to arrive at those outcomes.