News, Skilled Nursing Facility

CMS considers new direction to increase healthcare competition, issues request for information

The CMS Innovation Center is seeking feedback from stakeholders through an informal Request for Information (RFI) to determine a new direction for healthcare systems that promotes patient-centered care and tests market-driven reforms that empower beneficiaries as consumers, provides price transparency, increases choices and competition to drive quality, reduces costs, and improves outcomes. Comments will be accepted through 11:59pm ET, November 20, 2017.
In a press release sent out via email on September 20, CMS states that …

News, Skilled Nursing Facility

20% of Medicare ambulance claims have inappropriate billing for transport

CMS reports that in a September 2015 report, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released results of a study of Medicare Part B ambulance claims. According to the report, almost 20 percent of ambulance suppliers had inappropriate and questionable billing for ambulance transport, creating vulnerabilities to Medicare program integrity. The OIG identified a number of key problems, including:

Ambulance transports for beneficiaries who did not receive any Medicare services at the point of origin or …

Assisted Living, News, Skilled Nursing Facility

Dementia care competencies: Creating a strong foundation

Editor’s note: This post is an excerpt taken from one of HCPro’s dementia titles, Serving Residents with Dementia: Transformative Care Strategies for Assisted Living Providers, written by Kerry C. Mills.
A program for people with dementia cannot be thrown together overnight. Caring for a group of people who have different histories, tastes, interests, personalities, physical abilities, cultures, and beliefs is complex. Given this reality, it should come as no surprise that creating a program that meets …

Home Health, Hospice, Skilled Nursing Facility

Medicare exemptions granted for providers affected by Irma

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is granting exceptions under certain Medicare quality reporting and value-based purchasing programs to acute care hospitals, PPS-exempt cancer hospitals, inpatient psychiatric facilities, skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies, hospices, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, renal dialysis facilities, long-term care hospitals, and ambulatory surgical centers located in areas affected by Hurricane Irma due to the devastating impact of the storm. These providers will be granted exceptions without having to submit …