The federal government will release approximately 750,000 point-of-care COVID-19 tests from manufacturer Abbott to nursing homes next week in a separate, parallel initiative that builds on a previously announced push to bring coronavirus tests directly to facilities’ doors. Initially positioned as a way to ramp up testing in schools, a Department of Health and Human […]
The federal government on Thursday confirmed the value-based structure of the remaining $2 billion in federal aid to nursing homes, with facilities that beat baseline COVID-19 infection and mortality rates set to receive more relief. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will structure the remaining distribution as a kind of monthly contest, with […]
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is investigating a nursing home in Beaver County, Pa., where more than 300 residents and staff were infected with COVID-19 and at least 73 residents and a housekeeper died. TribLive, the website of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, first reported the news. Investigators with the agency on Thursday served warrants at […]
The nation’s top COVID-19 testing official gave more insight into the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) efforts to expedite and expand the use of rapid point-of-care antigen testing in skilled nursing facilities across the U.S. during a media briefing held Tuesday. HHS announced on Monday that it was expanding coverage for licensed health […]
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced Monday that it is extending coverage for prescribing or administering point-of-care COVID-19 tests to screen for the illness in congregate settings such as skilled nursing facilities. The move overrules state directives that restrict or ban outright the use of such tests. The extension of coverage under […]
The federal government last week cracked down on COVID-19 testing in nursing homes, with a host of new fines exceeding $8,000 per instance, but some industry leaders — and a prominent geriatrician — have raised concerns about whether providers can meet the new benchmarks, or whether the plan will have the intended effects. “You cannot […]
Nursing homes will be required to test staffers for COVID-19 as often as twice weekly depending on the prevalence of the virus in the surrounding community, and a top federal official emphasized that repeat testing for negative antigen results may not be necessarily required in all cases. The White House late Tuesday initially revealed the […]
As the federal government moves to mandate more frequent COVID-19 testing in nursing homes, half of the latest tranche of $5 billion in relief will be sent to facilities this week, the White House announced late Tuesday. “The first $2.5 billion of these funds will be distributed this week to help many nursing homes cover […]
The federal government late last week released an updated blueprint for distributing the second wave of nearly 12,000 point-of-care COVID-19 testing units destined for nursing homes, with a significantly wider definition of hotspots than the initial round. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has designated about 11,800 facilities as targets for the second […]
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Thursday announced the use of the Defense Production Act to bolster orders of point-of-care coronavirus testing units and supplies for the nation’s nursing homes. HHS applied “priority rated contracts” for devices and related assays with Becton Dickinson (BD) and the Quidel Corporation, the two manufacturers tasked […]
The federal government will soon open up its strategic stockpile of N95 respirators to nursing homes and other health care providers, according to a report, but at least a portion of the distribution will be made through the open marketplace. The Trump administration this week sent information to governors on how health providers in their […]
UPDATE, August 11: An earlier version of this story indicated that a portion of the $5 billion in relief funding for nursing homes will be based on prior performance. Speaking at a virtual event Tuesday, American Health Care Association president and CEO Mark Parkinson clarified that the value-based initiatives will be exclusively prospective, with only […]
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) should be doing more to enforce proper staffing levels at nursing homes, while providing more detailed information about nurse coverage hours to the public, the federal government’s top health care watchdog found in a new report. About 7% of the nation’s nursing facilities failed to meet one […]
Health care providers that received more than $750,000 in federal awards from the federal coronavirus Provider Relief Funds (PRF) will face a single audit or program-specific audit, and they need to ensure that the funds are used in accordance with the federal government’s terms and conditions — especially since they can’t be classified as a […]
The federal government has opened its coffers of COVID-19 relief funds to the operators of facilities that changed hands in the months leading up to the coronavirus pandemic, but the window to strike is small. In the name of expediency, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) rushed out relief dollars to health care […]
The federal government on Monday introduced a proposed rule that would, if finalized, make permanent at least some of the emergency telehealth flexibilities implemented during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, while potentially allowing a greater frequency of remote nursing home interventions. President Trump on Monday signed an executive order requiring the Department of Health and Human […]
The federal government on Friday finalized a previously proposed rule that will bring a 2.2% Medicare payment bump to the nation’s skilled nursing facilities. Under the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) 2021 payment rule, facilities will see a total increase of $750 million in Medicare reimbursements over the next fiscal year, which begins […]
The federal government is shipping 398 point-of-care COVID-19 testing devices to 384 skilled nursing facilities this week, along with 199,000 tests, with a continued focus on states with significant outbreaks, according to an update from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The shipments come on top of 654 testing instruments sent to 635 […]
The Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) on Tuesday released details on the reporting requirements for companies that received federal money designated for health care providers grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic. The notice of reporting requirements details the timing of future reporting for recipients of distributions from the Provider Relief Fund (PRF), created by […]
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will be sending $5 billion to all skilled nursing facilities in the U.S, President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday. “Nursing homes in higher risk areas will be receiving more funding,” Trump said in his coronavirus briefing on Wednesday. “This money can be used to address critical needs, […]
