| The long-awaited final rule on the revised/new SNF Conditions of Participation has been published in the Federal Register. The public inspection version is available now, including the comments from the Proposed Rule. The final rule will revise the requirements that long-term care facilities must meet to participate in the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The effective date for the regulations affected by this final rule is November 28, 2016. | | The Home Health Quality of Patient Care Star Ratings Preview Reports and the Home Health Compare Provider Preview Reports are now available in the Provider CASPER folders. These reports contain data that will be publicly reported on the Home Health Compare website in January 2017. The deadline to submit a request to have the Quality of Patient Care star rating data suppressed is October 24, 2016. | | WIf you are a home health or hospice agency looking to provide services in an assisted-living facility (ALFs), be aware that in January 2015, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) released a report titled Medicare Hospices Have Financial Incentives to Provide Care in Assisted Living Facilities. In this report, the OIG revealed that Medicare payments for hospice care in assisted living facilities (ALF) more than doubled between 2007 and 2012, for a total of $2.1 billion in 2012. | | The bulk of my work centers around gathering data, analyzing trends and working with the leadership of various organizations to implement strategy or more centered, strategies. The process is iterative, interactive and always fascinating. Throughout my career, I’ve worked within (virtually) every health care industry segment and seniors housing segment. I also counsel and have worked with entities that buy, sell, invest in, consult with, account for, finance, and research health care and seniors housing businesses. It is my work with the latter that is the genesis of this post and my decades of work with the former that is the “content”. | Upcoming CMS Events Thursday, 10/15 - CMS Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNF)/Long Term Care (LTC) Open Door Forum: The IMPACT Act and Improving Care Coordination | Product Spotlight Building solid operational and clinical processes is key for skilled nursing facilities (SNF) to stay compliant under the numerous Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) regulatory changes effective October 1. The evolving “volume to value” industry landscape brings with it more accountability, higher outcome standards, and incentivized payment systems. |
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