Omaha, Nebraska — On Friday, Nebraska became the first state in the country to actually enforce Medicaid work requirements under a law signed by President Trump — eight months ahead of the federally mandated deadline, and before most other states have figured out what they’re doing. The move puts nursing homes and long-term care providers on alert. Medicaid is the single largest payer in the skilled nursing sector, and any significant reduction in enrollment ripples directly into facilities’ bottom lines and patient census. What the Requirements Actually Demand Under Nebraska’s new rules, most Medicaid enrollees between the ages of 19…
Author: Chaya S
Washington, D.C. — Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. touched off a firestorm last week after calling Medicaid programs that pay family members to care for elderly and disabled relatives a breeding ground for fraud — and nursing homes are paying close attention. During congressional testimony before the House Ways and Means Committee, Kennedy criticized home- and community-based services programs that compensate family caregivers, suggesting they pay people “for balancing the checkbook, for picking up the groceries, for driving somebody to a doctor’s appointment.” He said the federal government has no way to verify whether caregivers actually…
Washington, D.C. — For years, a maddening gap has existed between when the federal government approves a new medical device and when Medicare patients can actually get one. It could take more than a year — sometimes much longer — after FDA approval before Medicare would officially cover it. That’s about to change. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration jointly announced a new initiative called the RAPID coverage pathway — short for Regulatory Alignment for Predictable and Immediate Device — on April 23. It’s designed to close that gap dramatically, potentially cutting…
Chicago, Illinois — Nursing homes in states that use case-mix Medicaid payment systems may be getting punished in the federal Five-Star system for something regulators usually say they want more of: better documentation. That is the argument laid out in a new industry analysis examining how case-mix index, or CMI, reimbursement can distort public ratings. The piece says facilities in CMI states often show higher nursing case mix while also posting lower Quality Measure and Staffing star ratings than facilities in non-CMI states. On paper, that can make a building look weaker. In practice, the gap may say more about…
Atlanta, Georgia — Only about six in ten nursing home residents received a flu shot last season, and fewer than half of the healthcare workers caring for them got vaccinated, according to a new federal report that offers the first comprehensive national look at influenza vaccination in long-term care facilities. The analysis, published this week in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, found that influenza vaccination coverage reached 61.3% among nursing home residents during the 2024–25 flu season — and just 42.1% among health care personnel working in those same facilities. The numbers vary significantly by employee type, with…
Washington, D.C. — Nursing homes that rely on staffing agencies to fill their workforce gaps are facing a new layer of legal uncertainty, after the U.S. Department of Labor proposed a sweeping overhaul of the rules that determine when two employers share responsibility for the same worker. The department’s Wage and Hour Division announced the proposed rule on April 22, establishing a unified national standard for “joint employer” status under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act. A public comment period runs through June 22. Why nursing…
Albany, New York — With the state’s $260 billion budget already weeks overdue, New York’s nursing homes are making a desperate last push for their share of a multibillion-dollar Medicaid pot — and the hospital lobby isn’t making it easy. At stake is anywhere from $1.5 billion to $2.4 billion in supplemental Medicaid funds that Gov. Kathy Hochul and state lawmakers are negotiating to offset the federal health care cuts pushed through by President Trump. Both sides agree the money is needed. The fight is over who gets it. Hospitals say they deserve two-thirds of the pot — roughly mirroring…
St. Paul, Minnesota — For years, nursing home residents in Minnesota who wanted a glass of wine at a social gathering had to bring their own. That’s not a joke — it was state law. That changed Tuesday when Gov. Tim Walz signed a bill officially allowing nursing homes and assisted living facilities to serve alcohol to residents without needing a liquor license. The new measure, quickly dubbed the “Grandparents’ Happy Hour” law, passed with bipartisan support and takes effect immediately. What the Old Law Said Under Minnesota’s previous rules, facilities that wanted to organize any event involving alcohol had…
For most nursing home residents who need dialysis, the routine looks the same: an early morning wake-up, a long ride to an outpatient center, hours in a chair, then an exhausting trip back. By the time they return, half their day is gone — and they’re too drained to do much else. A small but growing number of facilities are changing that equation. By partnering with specialty dialysis providers to bring treatment directly into the building, they’re keeping residents in familiar surroundings, reducing logistical headaches, and seeing real improvements in care quality. The model — increasingly called a “dialysis den”…
Baltimore, Maryland — You’ve probably seen the headlines: millennials are set to inherit trillions from their baby boomer parents in the biggest intergenerational wealth transfer in American history. A new report says that story leaves out a critical detail. For millions of middle-class families, that wealth is quietly disappearing — one nursing home bill at a time. The Roosevelt Institute released a study examining how long-term care costs are gutting the financial security of older Americans and the children they planned to leave something behind for. The findings are striking. After care needs begin, middle-class individuals face permanent wealth reductions…
