Washington, D.C. — Nursing homes just caught a break from CMS — with a catch buried in the same pages. The agency’s updated MDS 3.0 Resident Assessment Instrument manual, effective October 1, settles a fight that has been simmering for years: states and other payers cannot override federal guidance on how facilities code resident assessments. The clarification, tucked into the roughly 900-page manual CMS released September 17, landed like a victory for providers who have watched state case-mix auditors demand documentation far beyond what federal rules actually require. “CMS listened to our member feedback,” said Jessie McGill, senior curriculum development…
Author: Ahuva S
Scranton, Pennsylvania — Workers at four Embassy Healthcare nursing homes in Northeastern Pennsylvania gathered outside their facilities Thursday to protest repeated lapses in their health insurance coverage, marking the second disruption in just four months despite premiums continuing to be deducted from their paychecks. Licensed practical nurse Karen Marx, a 20-year veteran at Embassy of Scranton, said the latest lapse left colleagues unable to fill prescriptions, forced one to postpone surgery, and left another facing uncertainty over medical bills for a sick child. “We come to work every day to take care of our residents,” Marx said. “We depend on…
Washington, D.C. — One of the most visible voices for nonprofit nursing homes and aging services is preparing to exit the stage. Katie Smith Sloan, president and CEO of LeadingAge, will step down effective March 31, 2027, closing out more than two decades with the organization. “It has been the honor of my life to serve LeadingAge for the past 10 years as president and CEO, and for 10 years before that as chief operating officer,” Sloan said in a statement announcing her departure. “Our vision of an America that values older adults and those who serve them has never…
Montpelier, Vermont — The Green Mountain State is putting serious money behind its promise to shore up long-term care in rural communities, with $11.7 million in federal Rural Health Transformation funds now flowing to nursing homes, workforce training, and tuition assistance for healthcare students. The funding, announced this week by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, represents the first slice of a $195 million federal award Vermont received at the end of 2025. State officials say the money cannot come soon enough. A Workforce Fix with Strings Attached The lion’s share of this initial round — $9 million —…
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania — Nursing homes in Pennsylvania could soon face a major new hurdle when changing hands. State lawmakers are pushing legislation that would require operators to post a $10,000 surety bond for every licensed bed before taking control of a facility.House Bill 2754, introduced in late August with bipartisan support, targets what legislators call one of the highest-risk moments for resident safety: the transfer of operations from one owner to another.Closing the Gap on Unvetted TransfersUnder current regulations, the Pennsylvania Department of Health only learns about a change of operator after it has already happened. The bill would flip…
Columbus, Ohio — Cybercriminals have targeted nursing homes and senior care facilities across four states in a recent wave of attacks, compromising sensitive patient and employee data in breaches that highlight the growing vulnerability of long-term care providers to digital threats. Atrium Centers Inc., a Columbus-based skilled nursing and rehabilitation care provider operating multiple facilities, disclosed that unauthorized actors accessed its computer systems between October 8 and October 12, 2025. The company, which is employee-owned and serves communities across Ohio, said files containing patient and employee data were viewed or copied during the incident. The compromised information includes names, contact…
A new study — A rehabilitation-driven approach to dementia care is producing measurable results in skilled nursing facilities, with new research showing significant drops in both antipsychotic prescriptions and emergency department visits among residents. The findings, published this month in the Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, tracked outcomes across facilities that adopted an interdisciplinary care model built around the Allen Cognitive Scale. According to industry reports, the study linked this therapy-forward approach to marked reductions in medication use and hospital transfers. The Allen Cognitive Scale, developed decades ago by occupational therapy researcher Claudia K. Allen, assesses functional cognitive…
Spokane, Washington — Nursing homes and other long-term care facilities in Washington state are getting federal breathing room as wildfires continue to tear through the region. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced a sweeping set of blanket waivers and flexibilities retroactive to August 1, designed to keep care running for thousands of displaced residents. The Fairview, Autumn Lane, and Old Trails fires near Spokane County have forced evacuations across the area, leaving facilities scrambling to maintain operations while managing resident transfers and staff shortages. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. declared a public health emergency on August 7,…
Washington, D.C. — Nursing homes are staring down a much faster clock for Minimum Data Set submissions. Under CMS’s newly finalized FY 2027 payment rule, the window for submitting MDS assessments is shrinking from roughly four and a half months to about 45 days after each quarter ends. Facilities will start collecting data under the tighter timeline in January 2027, though the change will not affect payment determinations until fiscal 2029. The message from regulators is blunt: data needs to be accurate, complete, and on time. A tighter deadline with real money on the line CMS released the final rule…
CMS is rolling out a new “high-performing” icon on Care Compare — a small gold trophy meant to steer families toward top-rated nursing homes. But operators warn the symbol could create more confusion than clarity. Only about 12% of the nation’s nursing homes are expected to qualify for the new risk-based survey model, according to federal criteria. Facilities that make the cut will face shorter inspections with fewer surveyors. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services plans to flip the switch for internal use on Sept. 8 and display the icon publicly on Care Compare by Sept. 30. To earn…
