Bulletin Board
Bulletin Board
CMS Beefs Up Home Health Regs
New home health regulations will “…improve the quality of health care services for Medicare and Medicaid patients and strengthen patients’ rights,” according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which published the new regulations. The new regulations call for a comprehensive statement of patient rights, better communication between patients and providers, data-driven assessment of the quality of care providers deliver, a stronger focus on infection control, better coordination of services with other providers, and new qualifications for home care personnel. Learn more about the new regulation in this CMS [...]
CMS Considers Expanding PACE
The federal government is considering expanding its Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly to younger participants with disabilities. It also is considering expanded access to the program to as-yet unspecified “other populations.” The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is seeking public input on these possibilities. To learn more, see this CMS news release, which outlines the agency’s interests and offers a link to its formal Request for Information seeking input on prospective PACE expansion. Comments are due February 10.
New Regs Seek to Improve Nursing Home Experience for Residents
New Medicare regulations should improve the quality of life of nursing home residents. The regulations, to be introduced in three phases, give residents more meal options, their choice of roommates, and improved procedures for addressing grievances. They also give residents the right to challenge discharges, expanded protection from abuse, and the promise of better, more qualified staff members to serve them. Learn more about the new regulations and how they seek to improve the quality of life for nursing home residents in this Kaiser Health News report.
Weighing the Impact of ACA Repeal
How might repeal of the Affordable Care Act affect the financial health of different kinds of hospitals? The New York Times recently took a look at how the 2010 reform law’s repeal would affect two Pennsylvania health systems: the Temple University Health System, led by a heavily Medicaid-dependent safety-net hospital located in one of the poorest communities in the country; and Main Line Health, a non-profit organization with several hospitals all located in affluent communities. See what the Times found here.
Medicare Program Reduced Readmissions
Medicare’s hospital readmissions reduction program has resulted in a reduction of avoidable hospital readmissions. Or so concludes a new study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. According to the study, which included an analysis of 15 million patient discharges beween 2000 and 2013, readmissions declined after Medicare introduced the program and the hospitals with the poorest performance prior to the program’s launch experienced the greatest improvement in reducing avoidable readmissions. To learn more, read the study “Readmission Rates After Passage of the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program: A Pre–Post Analysis” [...]