CMS-proposed HCBS rules elicit request for extension of comment period from 5 associations
By
Lois A. Bowers
May 22, 2023
The executive directors of five national organizations are asking the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to extend by at least 30 days the comment periods for two proposed rules related to access...
Providers need funding to improve Medicaid HCBS access, quality, advocates say
By
Kimberly Bonvissuto
May 01, 2023
Senior living advocates are applauding steps announced by the federal government to ensure equitable access to home- and community-based services provided via the Medicaid program, but they say that funding...
Updated: CMS proposes mandatory quality measures, other changes to HCBS program
By
Lois A. Bowers
Apr 27, 2023
Some quality measures for home- and community-based services would become mandatory under a proposed rule announced Thursday by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Several other changes related...
Better wages, working conditions key to attracting more workers to HCBS settings
By
Kimberly Bonvissuto
Apr 21, 2023
The size of the home- and community-based services workforce has not kept pace with expanding numbers of Medicaid program participants, according to a new study whose authors contend that better pay and...
As HCBS settings rule compliance date arrives, some worry about future for assisted living providers,...
By
Lois A. Bowers
Mar 20, 2023
As federal officials celebrated “an important milestone” in the implementation of the home- and community-based services settings final rule on Friday, some senior living industry advocates warned...
11 states ready to go live with Medicaid HCBS final rule as deadline approaches, CMS says
By
Kimberly Bonvissuto
Feb 22, 2023
Eleven states are planning to go live under the regulations of the home- and community-based settings final rule on March 18, according to Melissa Harris, deputy director for the CMS Disabled and Elderly...
Coming end of COVID-19 PHE brings concerns about senior living effects
By
Kimberly Bonvissuto
Feb 14, 2023
The May 11 end of the COVID-19 public health emergency — and the flexibilities it provided — means many potential changes for providers of Medicaid home- and community-based services. And those changes...
Assisted living needs to be part of enhanced Medicaid HCBS program, industry advocates say
By
Kimberly Bonvissuto
Jan 30, 2023
A proposal calling for permanent enhanced federal funding to states to expand the Medicaid home- and community-based services program needs to go a step further to emphasize the benefits of assisted living,...
AHCA/NCAL asks HHS to extend COVID-19 public health emergency past Jan. 11
By
Lois A. Bowers
Nov 03, 2022
The COVID-19 public health emergency should be extended past Jan. 11 “so that long-term and post-acute care providers can continue to offer the most efficient and effective care possible and so our nation’s...
Business of long-term care ‘has never been worse’ as occupancy, staffing challenges continue
By
Kimberly Bonvissuto
Oct 12, 2022
NASHVILLE, TN — With the clinical issues of COVID-19 largely behind the long-term care industry, the business side “has never been worse,” according to American Health Care Association / National...