As part of already proposed legislation, U.S. Democratic Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania is pushing for an injection of billions of dollars to increase the direct care workforce and improve pay. Casey’s Long-Term Care Workforce Support Act could be viewed as a funding mechanism for the Biden administration’s federal nursing home staffing mandate, which would […]
Lawyers and other leaders in the nursing home sector believe the American Health Care Association’s (AHCA) lawsuit is strong, framed well and likely to succeed, with a decision possible by early 2025. An injunction from the plaintiffs – all 5-Star facilities located in Texas along with AHCA – regarding staffing rule’s implementation should follow in […]
As the comment period ended Tuesday for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) proposed rule that updates Medicare payment policies and rates for skilled nursing facilities for fiscal year 2025, a majority of the feedback centered on the possible expansion of the agency’s authority to enforce civil monetary penalties (CMPs) for noncompliance. In […]
Nursing and residential care facilities had the highest wage growth of any health care setting in April at 4.5% year over year, which was followed by ambulatory health care services at 3.2% and hospitals at 3.1%. The sector also added 9,300 jobs in April despite a “cool month” for the economy, according to economic indicators […]
LeadingAge joins a slew of other nursing home industry voices in urging a multi-faceted strategy following the finalization of the federal minimum staffing rule a month ago. The advocacy group is pursuing legislative, legal and regulatory avenues to stop the mandate and build the workforce. Katie Smith Sloan, president and CEO of LeadingAge, said, “We […]
The “super SNF,” an insider term used for nursing homes that serve mostly high acuity patients, is evolving to enhance its specialized function, and leaders in the space believe it will be a replacement – or at least a supplement – for long-term acute care hospitals (LTACHs) and inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs). The latest changes […]
The sale of Petersen Health Care’s properties will now proceed after a deal was reached with one of its lenders to allow a court-appointed receiver to maintain operations of the nursing home giant’s eight Illinois facilities. Among the largest nursing home operators in the nation, Petersen filed for bankruptcy in March. The sale of these […]
Scaling up by empowering regional operators has long been a successful strategy for nursing home giant PACS Group (NYSE: PACS), but this growth hasn’t come at the expense of losing its identity nor by over-leveraging itself using high-interest debt, according to CEO Jason Murray. For PACS, which debuted on Wall Street in April, its steady […]
An alarming 73% of the nursing home workforce is facing “intermediate to high levels��� of stress – the high risk group representing a rate that is double that of the general population at 34% compared to 17%, according to a new study. Digital labor marketplace KARE, along with the National Association of Health Care Assistants […]
The federal government’s solution to resolving quality concerns at nursing homes through minimum staffing standards is weakened by this reality: It’s currently near impossible to bolster the nursing home workforce. In the weeks since the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized its staffing rule, the industry has come out swinging with this particular […]
Nursing home challenges are becoming a hot topic in election debates, most recently with a race in Pennsylvania between incumbent Sen. Bob Casey and his Republican challenger David McCormick. Industry experts have predicted that nursing homes, along with other settings in long-term care, will be central for future presidential candidates as well. The growth of […]
Nursing home residents with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) appear to benefit from greater nurse practitioner (NP) involvement, with fewer hospitalizations and higher hospice use at end of life. The number of differences in outcomes between extensive and minimal NP care was higher in states with a full scope of practice regulations than in […]
The nursing home minimum staffing rule is estimated to cost the industry a staggering $6.5 billion per year, and would require an additional 102,000 clinicians, according to a new analysis released Thursday by the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL). To fulfill the rule’s requirements, more than 77,000 certified nurse […]
An amendment for a bill that aims to alleviate staff shortages at nursing homes passed Wednesday, allowing nurse aides to continue their training at facilities facing violations and fines. As the bill titled, “Ensuring Seniors’ Access to Quality Care Act,” now moves on to the next stage of review, the amendment signals a shift in […]
If there’s no additional funding for the minimum staffing rule, well over 5% of existing facilities will close, depending on how successfully operators can pivot to meet the standard. The rates of closure may even reach 10% to 15%, depending on the market, cautioned sector leaders attending the LTC100 conference this week. Steve Nee, CEO […]
As staffing shortages continue to drive nursing home closures across the U.S, sector leaders such as Erin Hennessey, President and CEO of Health Dimensions Group, are expressing deep concerns about the minimum staffing rule that will only worsen the crisis of access, especially in rural counties where labor is in very short supply. “There’s no […]
Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) officials offered more clarity on the updates to the Value-Based Purchasing program for nursing homes, including insights into the usefulness of the facility-level early look reports and details on three new quality measures that will now be tied to incentive payments in fiscal 2025. These proposed changes to […]
The corporate spending of three publicly traded nursing home companies are at the center of questioning by legislators, who sent letters to them Sunday demanding more information on executive compensation, stock buybacks and dividends. In the midst of the industry’s opposition to the federal government’s minimum staffing mandate, the letters signed by the Senators Elizabeth […]
Nursing home advocacy groups criticized the Biden Administration for “misleading” the public with its negative rhetoric on nursing homes as reactions to the federal government’s minimum staffing rule continued to trickle in. Discussions of the finalized staffing rule were seen in recent policymaker committees, including the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, and […]
Despite high interest rates, CareTrust REIT (NYSE: CTRE) is well positioned to invest and gain from the steady flow of attractive investment deals prevalent in the skilled nursing sector today, with executives underlining the company’s access to capital to feed a historic robust phase of growth. “We conservatively established a fortressed balance sheet for times […]
