CMS gives states 3 more years to comply with HCBS final rule
By
Lois A. Bowers
May 09, 2017
States will have until 2022 to comply with a final rule regarding the provision of home- and community-based services to Medicaid beneficiaries, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced Tuesday.
Medicaid block grants will help address ‘looming cost crisis’ due to aging population, CMS says
By
Lois A. Bowers
Jan 31, 2020
The Medicaid block grant program announced Thursday by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services won’t directly affect elderly and disabled beneficiaries, CMS Administrative Seema Verma said, but...
Proposed budget’s cuts to Medicaid, affordable housing elicit concerns
By
Lois A. Bowers
May 23, 2017
“Drastic” and “devastating” are two of the words used by advocacy organizations representing seniors housing or care providers and those they serve to describe President Trump’s...
Proposed HCBS rule could diminish service access, hamper provider retention efforts, 11 senators tell...
By
Lois A. Bowers
Feb 20, 2024
A proposed federal rule that would require providers of home- and community-based services to spend at least 80% of the Medicaid payments they receive for personal care, homemaker and home health aide...
Provider groups decry ‘chronic underfunding’ as CMS introduces HCBS quality measures
By
Lois A. Bowers
Jul 22, 2022
The federal government’s introduction Thursday of quality measures for the home- and community-based services offered by assisted living and other providers comes in the midst of “longstanding, chronic...
Reporting COVID vaccination data to CMS would be ‘burdensome,’ ‘redundant’ for assisted living,...
By
Lois A. Bowers
Jul 14, 2021
Requiring assisted living providers to report weekly COVID-19 vaccination data to the federal government would add administrative and cost burdens to operators already challenged by the pandemic and even...
New GAO report focuses on CMS but could have direct effects on assisted living
By
Lois A. Bowers
Feb 06, 2018
A report released Monday by the Government Accountability Office contains a to-do list for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services related to state reporting of deficiencies in care and services provided...
Senate healthcare bill would ‘ruin Medicaid as we know it’
By
Lois A. Bowers
Jun 22, 2017
As Senate Republicans released a “discussion draft” of their plan to replace the Affordable Care Act on Thursday, advocacy organizations in senior living expressed concerns about the legislation’s...
Despite headlines, GAO report does not portend major changes for assisted living, industry leaders say
By
Lois A. Bowers
May 13, 2018
Some assisted living community operators understandably were concerned in February after the Government Accountability Office released a report about federal oversight of assisted living services offered...
Caregiver pay in the balance as advocacy groups size up proposed spending requirements
By
Lois A. Bowers
Jul 17, 2023
As assisted living provider advocacy groups try to influence federal home- and community-based services-related policy, their comments are joined by thousands of others, some in agreement with industry...