Payment Reforms for Inpatient Hospital Services

In an effort to improve the accuracy of payment under the acute care hospital inpatient prospective payment system and give hospitals incentives to improve quality, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed a new rule. From the press release: Medicare’s inpatient rates for operating expenses will increase by 3.3 percent in FY 2008 [...]

Medicare News Roundup

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has made a series of announcements about Medicare: 1. Payment rates for home health services will increase by 3.3 percent for 2007. The acting administrator for CMS said this increase will “reward home health agencies who continue to report quality data and also provides beneficiaries with access [...]

More Money for Doctors Reporting Quality of Care Data

Physicians who provide care to Medicare patients with chronic conditions will have an incentive to do more paperwork. The Kaiser Network reports that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will begin a three-year pilot program that will pay physicians to report quality of care data. An excerpt: The three-year program will begin next year [...]

Senate Committee Asks CMS to Investigate QIOs

Concerned about executives’ salaries and perks, the Senate Committee on Finance has asked the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to investigate Medicare Quality Improvement Organizations (QIOs) for effectiveness and improprieties. (Medical News Today) The call for an investigation was likely prompted by the American Health Quality Association’s request for more funding and broadened [...]

Mandatory Background Checks for LTC Employees in Michigan

In a move designed to improve standards in long term care facilities, Michigan Governor Jennifer M. Granholm signed a measure earlier this year that requires nursing homes and other assisted living facilities to conduct criminal background checks on prospective employees, the Michigan Long Term Care Partnership Workforce Background Check. (WILX News) At the web site, [...]

Quality First Pledge

In the long term care industry, there is what’s known as the “Quality First Pledge,” containing seven core principles: Continuous Quality Assurance and Quality Improvement Public Disclosure and Accountability Patient/Resident and Family Rights Workforce Excellence Public Input and Community Involvement Ethical Practices Financial Stewardship (Source: American Health Care Association) Harborside Healthcare, a long term care [...]

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