State allocates $1B+ for assistance to Medicaid, other program beneficiaries
By
Kathleen Steele Gaivin
Aug 17, 2022
Georgia Gov. Brian P. Kemp (R) has set aside more than $1 billion for the state Department of Human Services to provide cash assistance of up to $350 per active enrollee in Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition...
Members of Congress call on CMS to collaborate in addressing nursing home workforce challenges
By
Kathleen Steele Gaivin
Sep 14, 2022
A bipartisan group of members of the House of Representatives is looking to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to work with them to resolve workforce shortages experienced by nursing homes across...
Citing staffing concerns, 2 governors ask for ‘relief’ from CMS vaccine mandate
By
Kathleen Steele Gaivin
Feb 02, 2022
Republican governors Jim Justice of West Virginia and Glenn Youngkin of Virginia requested “relief” Monday in the form of broader exemptions from the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ vaccine...
EEOC: Employers must accommodate religious objections to COVID vaccine mandates
By
Kathleen Steele Gaivin
Oct 27, 2021
Employers with COVID-19 vaccine mandates must accommodate workers’ “sincerely held religious beliefs, practices and observances” against such requirements unless doing so would create an “undue...
‘Break that cycle’ of low nursing home reimbursement, wages, Collins says
By
Kathleen Steele Gaivin
May 24, 2021
Long-term care advocates received some encouragement from Thursday’s hearing of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee’s Primary Health and Retirement Security subcommittee....
Biden administration asks Supreme Court for stay from injunctions against CMS vaccine mandate
By
Kathleen Steele Gaivin
Dec 20, 2021
As lawsuits mount from multiple states, the Biden administration asked the Supreme Court Thursday to reinstate nationwide the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ emergency regulation mandating...
Proposed law would enable some older workers to stay in jobs longer
By
Kathleen Steele Gaivin
May 12, 2021
Older Medicaid beneficiaries who are working and have disabilities no longer would need to retire at 65 to continue receiving benefits, under proposed legislation. The Supporting And Empowering the Nation...
COVID cases rise among nursing home staff, NIC says; AMDA releases new guidance
By
Kathleen Steele Gaivin
Jan 19, 2022
Weekly COVID-19 cases among skilled nursing home staff members and residents set new records earlier this month, according to the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care.
Minimum staffing levels would cost nursing homes $10 billion a year: report
By
Kathleen Steele Gaivin
Jul 20, 2022
The federal government’s proposed minimum staffing requirements for nursing homes could cost the industry $10 billion a year because tens of thousands of additional caregivers would need to be hired,...
ME LTC workers see expected pay increases as minimum wages increase across country
By
Kathleen Steele Gaivin
Jan 04, 2022
Direct care workers in skilled nursing and assisted living facilities in Maine are expected to see wage increases to at least 125% of the state’s minimum wage after Gov. Janet Mills (D) announced last...