Washington, D.C. — Senate Democrats are pressing for a sweeping overhaul of how the nation funds long-term care, and the industry’s response is striking: providers largely agree with the direction, even as they push back on one familiar piece of it. Ranking Member Ron Wyden and his colleagues on the Senate Finance Committee issued a formal request for information this week, laying out proposals to make nursing home ownership more transparent, rein in private equity involvement, and rebuild staffing standards after last year’s rollback of the federal mandate. According to the committee, nearly $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts enacted under…
Author: Sarah K
Boston, Massachusetts — Massachusetts health regulators have launched the most dramatic enforcement action the state has taken against a nursing home operator in years: an effort to strip all 12 licenses held by RegalCare, the chain whose worsening conditions were detailed in a recent Boston Globe Spotlight investigation. The Department of Public Health issued a notice of intended agency action Tuesday against Eliyahu “Eli” Mirlis, the chain’s CEO, finding him not suitable and not responsible to establish or maintain a long-term care facility in Massachusetts. Mirlis has 30 days to request a hearing, and the company has signaled it will…
Minneapolis, Minnesota — America’s nursing homes have clawed back nearly all the occupancy they lost during the pandemic. A new industry report argues the recovery is about to get much harder — and that filling beds alone won’t keep facilities in the black. CliftonLarsonAllen’s 41st annual SNF cost report, released Friday, draws on federal data from roughly 11,800 skilled nursing facilities — more than two-thirds of all Medicare-certified homes. National median occupancy hit 84.8% in 2025, and nearly half of all facilities now run at 85% or higher. But the pace is slowing fast. Homes gained 10.3 points in 2023…
Silver Spring, Maryland — A nursing home that has spent nearly a decade fighting a $1.5 million federal fine is now taking its case to the Supreme Court — and the outcome could reshape how Washington punishes nursing homes. Sligo Creek Center, a Medicare-participating facility in Montgomery County, filed a petition this week asking the nation’s highest court to take up its challenge to the government’s penalty system. At the center of the fight is a simple question: when a federal agency imposes a seven-figure fine, does the facility get a jury? The facility’s lawyers say no — and that’s…
Mission Viejo, California — The Ensign Group, the country’s largest nursing home operator, has crossed a line few chains ever reach: more than 400 facilities. The milestone arrived with a batch of deals announced Friday, and the company picked a big stage for its newest act — Florida, a state it has never operated in until now. The expansion covers nine operations in Florida, seven in Colorado and four in Washington. In Florida, Ensign picked up eight facilities totaling 831 beds in one transaction, then paired with its real estate affiliate, Standard Bearer Healthcare REIT, to buy the property and…
Boston, Massachusetts — A Massachusetts nursing home operator and two of its executives have agreed to pay $1 million to settle allegations that they billed Medicare and Medicaid for rehabilitation therapy patients didn’t need, federal prosecutors announced Wednesday. RegalCare Management Group, owner Eliyahu Mirlis and executive Hector Caraballo admitted that, between 2018 and 2023, the company submitted claims for skilled nursing rehab services that weren’t supported by patients’ actual medical needs, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts. Records changed without a single patient visit The details are what industry watchers will notice. Prosecutors said Caraballo…
Liberty, New York — A state Supreme Court judge has temporarily blocked Sullivan County from shutting down the Care Center at Sunset Lake, a 146-bed county-owned nursing home that was slated to close after decades of financial struggles. State Supreme Court Justice Kevin R. Bryant issued a temporary restraining order late Wednesday that prevents the county from transferring residents, laying off staff, or implementing any part of its closure plan. The order came just days after residents, family members, and employees filed a lawsuit claiming the county violated state open meetings laws and failed to give the public proper notice.…
Washington, D.C. — The nursing home workforce recovery hit a speed bump in August, with federal data showing job growth essentially flatlined across skilled nursing facilities nationwide. Employment at skilled nursing facilities rose by just 100 jobs from July to August, according to seasonally adjusted figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The modest bump brought total nursing home employment to 1.5902 million workers — barely budging from the previous month. The numbers paint a picture of an industry that is still struggling to rebuild its workforce more than six years after the pandemic first upended the sector. While…
Nazareth, Pennsylvania — A county-run nursing home in Pennsylvania is facing scrutiny after a grand jury report revealed a disturbing incident in which a nurse allegedly attempted to perform an exorcism on a vulnerable resident.The report, released by Northampton County officials, details a June 2025 incident at Gracedale Nursing Home in which registered nurse Octavia Robinson allegedly assaulted an elderly, non-verbal hospice resident while claiming the woman had “demons” inside her.According to the grand jury findings, Robinson stuffed clothes and towels into the resident’s throat and repeatedly struck her in the back. The woman’s two elderly roommates spent more than…
Washington, D.C. — Enrollment in Medicare Advantage Special Needs Plans has exploded over the past eight years, growing 215% since 2018 while general Medicare Advantage plans grew just 49% over the same period. The surge is reshaping how high-need beneficiaries access care — and nursing homes are squarely in the middle of it. According to new data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, more than 8 million people are now enrolled in Special Needs Plans as of February 2026. That is an increase of nearly 900,000 enrollees in just one year. SNPs now account for roughly 23% of…
