On Wednesday, September 25, 2019 a bipartisan pair of lawmkaers introduced a bill that its supporters say would ease persistent staffing strains on the nation’s nursing home operators. Historically, if a provider received a civil money penalty of more than $10,000 (related to a negative survey outcome), the center would be banned from training certified nursing assistants for two years. …
After litigation and multiple comment periods from the public, the new CMS rule for arbitration agreements went into effect on September 16th. The rule only applies to arbitration agreements entered into on or after September 16th. Providers should take note of key requirements to ensure that their arbitration agreement will be enforceable. While it was a recommended best practice prior …
A recent podcast from FBI This Week covered the FBI’s identification and investigation of nursing homes that exploit residents. What Does it Mean to You? When as the last time you viewed your operations with a critical eye? Now may be the perfect time as the FBI has allocated increased resources to identify and investigate exploitation of residents financially. They …
ECRI has unveiled their guidance on the subject of Personal Electric Device (PED) policy. The report covers both basic topics, like what to include in such a policy and the procedures therein, and more in-depth concepts such as tracking and, if necessary, wiping phones if they are stolen or missing. Developing a policy is a relatively simple process if facilities …
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) determined the prevalence of incidents of potential abuse or neglect of Medicare beneficiaries residing in skilled nursing facilities who had an ER Medicare claim in 2016 with a high-risk diagnosis code, whether these incidents of potential abuse and/or neglect were properly reported by the SNFs, whether the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) …
OIG has the authority to exclude individuals and entities from Federally funded health care programs for a variety of reasons, including a conviction for Medicare or Medicaid fraud. Those that are excluded can receive no payment from Federal healthcare programs for any items or services they furnish, order, or prescribe. This includes those that provide health benefits funded directly or …
A young woman signed an arbitration agreement on behalf of her uncle during the admissions process to the nursing facility. However, her uncle still possessed intact mental function and alertness at the time of admission. Though the young woman had been granted both durable power of attorney for finance and healthcare power of attorney on behalf of her uncle, the …
