State staffing policies could hamper MedPAC’s recommendations on federal mandate
By
Kathleen Steele Gaivin
Oct 11, 2022
A federal minimum staffing mandate is on the horizon for nursing homes at the beginning of 2023. Providers and experts wonder just how the proposed mandate might address historic staffing shortages without...
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...
Skilled nursing demand increasing, but staffing remains issue
By
Kathleen Steele Gaivin
Nov 07, 2022
killed nursing occupancy increased by 48 basis points from July to August to end the month at 78.8%, according to the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care’s most recent skilled nursing...
End of pandemic-era payments to family caregivers could complicate workforce shortages
By
Kathleen Steele Gaivin
Sep 20, 2023
During the pandemic, most states allowed some form of payment to family caregivers whose loved ones were receiving Medicaid home- and community-based services. As those payments dry up, workforce shortages...
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...
‘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....
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...
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...