Towson, Maryland — A Maryland-based long-term care pharmacy has agreed to pay more than $5.3 million to settle allegations that it billed federal healthcare programs for prescription drugs dispensed to assisted living residents without valid prescriptions, according to the Department of Justice. The settlement involves Remedi SeniorCare Holding Corp., which operates pharmacies serving nursing homes and assisted living facilities across multiple states. Federal prosecutors alleged that from January 2015 through March 2021, the company submitted false claims to Medicare and Medicaid for drugs that lacked proper prescriptions. How the Case Started The investigation began in December 2020 when two former…
Author: Chaya S
Baltimore, Maryland — Capital Funding Group has been busy. The healthcare and multifamily lender announced Tuesday that it closed more than $413 million across 24 transactions from late June through late August, financing 54 skilled nursing and assisted living communities spread across 13 states. The deal volume signals something important about where the nursing home sector stands right now. After years of pandemic disruption and workforce shortages that left many operators struggling to stay afloat, lenders are opening their wallets again. And they are doing it at scale. What the Deals Look Like CFG’s recent transactions paint a picture of…
St. Paul, Minnesota — Thousands of nursing home workers across Minnesota started earning higher wages this week under new state-mandated minimums that took effect September 10, marking the culmination of a years-long push by labor advocates to boost pay in one of the lowest-wage corners of healthcare. The new wage floors set by the Minnesota Nursing Home Workforce Standards Board establish four separate minimums based on role: $22.50 per hour for certified nursing assistants, $23.50 for trained medication aides, $27 for licensed practical nurses, and $19 for all other nursing home workers. The rates will climb another $1.50 per hour…
New research identifies influenza A, human metapneumovirus, and RSV as the primary drivers of acute respiratory infections in nursing home residents, highlighting the need for robust vaccination and testing protocols.
Nursing home residents who received an RSV vaccine were 73% less likely to be hospitalized with the virus and 56% less likely to die from it, according to a study of nearly 600,000 Medicare beneficiaries published this week in JAMA Internal Medicine. The finding arrives weeks before respiratory virus season, and it addresses a population that has been largely missing from the evidence base. Clinical trials of RSV vaccines enrolled community-dwelling older adults. Residents of long-term care facilities are frailer, carry more chronic conditions and take more medications, and families have had reason to ask whether trial results transfer to…
Chicago, Illinois — After years of pandemic burnout, staffing shortages, and regulatory headaches, long-term care leaders are finally showing signs of optimism. A new industry survey reveals that nurse managers and administrators are more satisfied with their jobs than they have been in years, and the reasons stretch from paycheck improvements to something unexpected: artificial intelligence. According to industry reports, the share of nurse managers and administrators who report being very satisfied or somewhat satisfied climbed from 77.6% in 2025 to 80.8% this year. That might sound like a modest bump, but it continues a slow climb from the sector’s…
Silver Spring, Maryland — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a first-of-its-kind treatment for pancreatic cancer, delivering a new option for patients facing one of the deadliest forms of the disease. The drug, called Rasonque (daraxonrasib), could have particular relevance for older adults in skilled nursing settings who are battling advanced cancer. The approval, announced Wednesday, marks a significant milestone in oncology. Rasonque is a daily tablet that targets a protein called RAS, which drives tumor growth in roughly 90% to 95% of pancreatic adenocarcinoma cases. For decades, this mutation has been considered undruggable. “Today’s approval provides a critical…
Amherst, Massachusetts — Nursing home closures are often blamed on simple market forces — too little money, too few residents, too much regulation. But a sweeping new study spanning four decades suggests the reality is far more complicated, and policy makers may have been looking at the problem all wrong. Research published in JAMA Health Forum tracked 33,110 nursing home locations across the United States from 1985 to 2025. The findings challenge the assumption that closures represent a straightforward market exit. Instead, they reveal a sector in constant flux, where ownership changes have become the dominant pathway for survival. The…
New York — When Attorney General Letitia James sued Centers Health Care in 2023, she accused the nursing home chain of siphoning more than $83 million from four facilities while residents suffered through severe abuse and neglect. The case seemed destined to become another example of enforcement actions that extract penalties but leave underlying problems untouched. Two years later, an independent monitor is reporting something unexpected: the settlement is actually working. Real Changes on the Ground According to the monitor’s August 2026 report, the four Centers facilities have implemented what the report calls “real and sustained care improvements” affecting more…
Washington, D.C. — In a surprising twist to the nursing home compensation landscape, MDS coordinators have emerged as the top earners of 2026 salary increases, outpacing even executive directors and CEOs. According to industry reports, MDS coordinators saw their average pay jump by 4.25% in facilities reporting data for both 2025 and 2026. That marks the largest increase among any position tracked in the annual Hospital & Healthcare Compensation Services survey, which covers more than 111,000 employees across 917 nursing homes nationwide. The raise pushes the national average salary for MDS coordinators to approximately $92,666, with some sources citing figures…
