Long Term Care Providers and Foreign Drugs

It goes without saying that long term care providers are allowed to administer drugs to patients, and extra care is required when acquiring, receiving, dispensing and administering foreign prescription drugs.
The attached letter (PDF) instructs state survey agency directors on what to do when providers administer foreign drugs. Foreign drugs that purport to be the [...]

Long Term Care Associations Speak Out

Many Medicare beneficiaries are elderly and most of them will likely have trouble understanding the complicated new drug plan because of age-related cognitive impairments. As a result, long term care providers will need to educate patients about the new plan, which some predict will prove burdensome.
Several long term care association members expressed their concerns in [...]

The Folded Napkin . A Truckers Story

This story was sent to PPAT by one of the members. Carole at PPAT gave me permission to post it here.
I try not to be biased, but I had my doubts about hiring Stevie. His placement counselor assured me that he would be a good, reliable busboy. But I had never had [...]

Medicare’s New Prescription Drug Plan Causing Confusion

Under Medicare’s new prescription drug plan, which goes into effect in January 2006, beneficiaries will have to choose between the new plan and free meds offered by private drug companies. These and other aspects of the program are causing confusion among seniors and industry experts.
For example, the program won’t be administered by the Social [...]

Echoing the Senate, House Approves Medicaid Cuts

Earlier this month I wrote that the Senate Finance Committee approved a bill that would reduce Medicare and Medicaid spending by $10 billion over five years. The full Senate approved the bill on November 4, 2005, and the House of Representatives recently passed its version of the bill, which would cut Medicaid funding by $12 [...]

Home Health Care Providers Can Expect $370 million in 2006

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced that Medicare payments to home health agencies will increase by 2.8 percent next year. Home health care providers, paid through a prospective payment system, can expect $370 million in payments in 2006.
How are payment rates calculated? From the CMS web site:
Home health payment rates are [...]

Capped Rental Option For Medical Equipment Eliminated

A few days ago I wrote about the Senate’s budget bill, which will reduce Medicare and Medicaid spending by $10 billion over five years. According to Medical News Today, the bill will also eliminate Medicare beneficiaries’ choice of continuing to rent medical equipment in the capped rental category because a section of the legislation would [...]

Drunken Moose Invades Nursing Home

If you have fruit trees on your premises, don’t let the fruit fall to the ground and ferment lest this happen:
They rarely have problems with drunks or rowdy animals, but residents of an elderly home in southern Sweden had to deal with both when a pair of intoxicated moose invaded the premises.
The moose _ [...]

New Medicare Drug Program vs. Free Meds

Medicare beneficiaries may have to choose between the new prescription drug program or free medication from drug companies. I recently wrote about Medicare’s new prescription drug program, which goes into effect in January 2006.
From the New York Times (registration required):
Mr. Bach, 65, who is blind, received worrisome news last month from Bristol-Myers Squibb. The free [...]

It’s National Hospice Month

November has been designated National Hospice Month. As more families continue to face difficult decisions about hospice care, providers have an opportunity to raise awareness about end-of-life issues for the terminally ill and their care-givers.
The National Association for Homecare and Hospice has written an informative fact sheet called Hospice Facts & Statistics (PDF).
I’m also linking [...]

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