Reducing hospital readmissions by Medicare beneficiaries could play a
large role in reducing program spending enough to avoid cutting
physician fees, Robert Pozen, a trustee of the Commonwealth Fund, and Cathy Schoen, senior vice president of the fund, write in a Boston Globe
opinion piece. According to Pozen and Schoen, Medicare must reduce
expenses by $20 billion annually over a decade beginning in 2010 to
avoid reducing fees to physicians. They write that "there is a
straightforward way to pay for half of this fix" through reducing
hospital readmissions. The authors note that a Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
study found that 75% of all 30-day hospital readmissions of Medicare
patients in 2005 were potentially preventable -- or 13% of total
admissions. If these readmissions were eliminated, Medicare could save
$12 billion annually, or more than half of its unfunded liability,
according to the authors. According to Pozen and Schoen, in
order to achieve these savings, Congress should address three
objectives: decreasing complications during hospital stays, improving
patient communication during the discharge process and tracking
patients after discharge. However, for these measures to work,
"Medicare needs to create the right incentives" because hospitals
currently receive higher payments for patients being treated twice,
according to the authors. The authors write that Congress should
require readmission rates to be public. They continue that hospitals
whose readmission rates are above the national average should receive
lower reimbursements for a beneficiary's second stay, while hospitals
who have rates lower than the national average should receive higher
reimbursements for a beneficiary's first hospital stay.
large role in reducing program spending enough to avoid cutting
physician fees, Robert Pozen, a trustee of the Commonwealth Fund, and Cathy Schoen, senior vice president of the fund, write in a Boston Globe
opinion piece. According to Pozen and Schoen, Medicare must reduce
expenses by $20 billion annually over a decade beginning in 2010 to
avoid reducing fees to physicians. They write that "there is a
straightforward way to pay for half of this fix" through reducing
hospital readmissions. The authors note that a Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
study found that 75% of all 30-day hospital readmissions of Medicare
patients in 2005 were potentially preventable -- or 13% of total
admissions. If these readmissions were eliminated, Medicare could save
$12 billion annually, or more than half of its unfunded liability,
according to the authors. According to Pozen and Schoen, in
order to achieve these savings, Congress should address three
objectives: decreasing complications during hospital stays, improving
patient communication during the discharge process and tracking
patients after discharge. However, for these measures to work,
"Medicare needs to create the right incentives" because hospitals
currently receive higher payments for patients being treated twice,
according to the authors. The authors write that Congress should
require readmission rates to be public. They continue that hospitals
whose readmission rates are above the national average should receive
lower reimbursements for a beneficiary's second stay, while hospitals
who have rates lower than the national average should receive higher
reimbursements for a beneficiary's first hospital stay.
As America's aging population increases, so does its need for long-term
care. And the workers who provide these services often lack the support
they need - particularly in the area of pay and work relationships,
according to "Better Jobs Better Care: New Research on the Long-Term Care Workforce," the latest special issue of The Gerontologist (Volume
48, Special Issue 1). Those aged 65 and older are projected to
represent at least 20 percent of the total U.S. population by 2030,
with the number of those 85-and-older increasing the most. The growth
of this demographic will have a major effect on the demand for and
supply of long-term care services.
Better Jobs Better Care (BJBC) was the nation's largest single
initiative created to reduce the high vacancy and turnover rates of
direct care workers and improve workforce quality through both policy
and practice changes.
care. And the workers who provide these services often lack the support
they need - particularly in the area of pay and work relationships,
according to "Better Jobs Better Care: New Research on the Long-Term Care Workforce," the latest special issue of The Gerontologist (Volume
48, Special Issue 1). Those aged 65 and older are projected to
represent at least 20 percent of the total U.S. population by 2030,
with the number of those 85-and-older increasing the most. The growth
of this demographic will have a major effect on the demand for and
supply of long-term care services.
Better Jobs Better Care (BJBC) was the nation's largest single
initiative created to reduce the high vacancy and turnover rates of
direct care workers and improve workforce quality through both policy
and practice changes.
This Event was picked up by Reuters Press Service!
<span>DETROIT, May 27 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 400 mental health consumers are<br />expected to attend "Empowerment Day," an event organized by consumers to<br />celebrate recovery from mental illness and advocate for improved mental health<br />services, on Friday, May 30, between 9 AM and 3 PM at The Samaritan Center at<br />5555 Conner Ave. Detroit, MI 48213.<br /> The third annual event will feature entertainment performances and<br />personal storytelling by consumers who have recovered from severe and<br />persistent mental illness and now live independently after mental health<br />intervention. Many of the consumers were once homeless.<br /> "We want to show that when consumers are supported in their long journey<br />to recovery, there is no telling what they can accomplish," said Gerald<br />Butler, chairperson of the Peer Support Empowerment Committee, which is<br />presenting the event. The Committee is a group of mental health consumers<br /></span>
<pre>SUMMARY: This final rule requires all long term care facilities to be <br />equipped with sprinkler systems by August 13, 2013. Additionally, this <br />final rule requires affected facilities to maintain their automatic <br />sprinkler systems once they are installed.<br /><br />DATES: These regulations are effective on October 14, 2008. The <br />incorporation by reference listed in the rule is approved by the <br />Director of the Federal Register October 14, 2008.<br /><br />FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Danielle Shearer, (410) 786-6617; <br />James Merrill, (410) 786-6998; Marcia Newton, (410) 786-5265; or <br />Jeannie Miller, (410) 786-3164.<br /></pre>
States regularly fail to notify the HHS Office of Inspector General
when they have expelled health care providers from their Medicaid
programs for incompetence, fraud and other reasons that would prohibit
them from receiving federal reimbursements, according to federal
investigators, the AP/San Francisco Chronicle reports.
The lack of notice keeps the providers off OIG's reimbursement
exclusion list, making it easier for barred providers to work in other
areas of the country and continue to receive federal funds, according
to the report. Federal investigators surveyed states to
determine how often Medicaid programs sanction a provider in a way that
would place them in OIG's exclusion database. Reasons for exclusion
include fraud convictions, patient abuse, licensing board sanctions and
default on federal education health loans. No federal payments can be
made for any services that an excluded provider performs, orders or
prescribes, according to federal law. Forty-seven states responded to
the survey.
when they have expelled health care providers from their Medicaid
programs for incompetence, fraud and other reasons that would prohibit
them from receiving federal reimbursements, according to federal
investigators, the AP/San Francisco Chronicle reports.
The lack of notice keeps the providers off OIG's reimbursement
exclusion list, making it easier for barred providers to work in other
areas of the country and continue to receive federal funds, according
to the report. Federal investigators surveyed states to
determine how often Medicaid programs sanction a provider in a way that
would place them in OIG's exclusion database. Reasons for exclusion
include fraud convictions, patient abuse, licensing board sanctions and
default on federal education health loans. No federal payments can be
made for any services that an excluded provider performs, orders or
prescribes, according to federal law. Forty-seven states responded to
the survey.
Read the Whole Article. It's great!
I’m getting older. You are too. It’s a fact of life that no matter
how young we are now, one day we’re going to start feeling the creaks
and groans of age settling in.
I can’t stay up as late at night. I’m a little slower to get going
in the morning. When I’ve been writing for a long time, I feel stiff as
I rise from my chair. Oh, yeah, and my eyesight is going, too.
Somewhere about the time we realize that
we’ve flipped into middle age, little physical effects of aging sink
in. They’re small at first and what gets noticed is what hurts most.
Then other changes come to light, slowly but surely.
Lately, I’ve noticed I’m squinting a little more to read text on my
monitor. I’m not keen on grey fonts and black on white serves me best.
I don’t like Arial 6 (or 8 or 10, for that matter) fonts on websites,
and I have to lean in and strain to read or give up and click away.
That’s important. How you write is key to online success. What you
write is even more so. But what your content looks like has a huge,
huge impact on your future.
A leading nursing-home association is calling for an independent panel
to come up with new methods for overseeing nursing facilities. The
association's task force issued 31 recommendations Tuesday,
highlighting steps that can be taken until such a panel can be convened. "The frustration of good providers has reached a boiling point," said
Tim Veno, executive director of the Kentucky Association of Homes and
Services for the Aging, and a task force member. On Tuesday, the
American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA) issued
its report, "Broken and Beyond Repair: Recommendations to Reform the
Survey and Certification System." "Our short-term suggestions alone won't bring the system back to the
intent of OBRA 87-achieving optimal, quality-based, resident-centered
care-but they will tide the system over until broad systemic change can
occur," said Bonnie Gauthier, CEO of Hebrew Health Care in West
Hartford, CT, and co-chair of the 20-member task force. Immediate
changes needed, according to report authors echoing years-long provider
sentiment, include better public reporting of survey results, joint
education of providers and surveyors, and greater overall consistency
in the process. The 31 recommendations include short- and long-term goals, such as
improving communication to surveyors and providers about new
requirements and changes to the survey process; standardized job
descriptions for surveyors; and flexibility to adapt to culture change.
The full report can be found at: http://www.aahsa.org/advocacy/nursing_homes/documents/SCTF_Report_FINAL.pdf.
to come up with new methods for overseeing nursing facilities. The
association's task force issued 31 recommendations Tuesday,
highlighting steps that can be taken until such a panel can be convened. "The frustration of good providers has reached a boiling point," said
Tim Veno, executive director of the Kentucky Association of Homes and
Services for the Aging, and a task force member. On Tuesday, the
American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA) issued
its report, "Broken and Beyond Repair: Recommendations to Reform the
Survey and Certification System." "Our short-term suggestions alone won't bring the system back to the
intent of OBRA 87-achieving optimal, quality-based, resident-centered
care-but they will tide the system over until broad systemic change can
occur," said Bonnie Gauthier, CEO of Hebrew Health Care in West
Hartford, CT, and co-chair of the 20-member task force. Immediate
changes needed, according to report authors echoing years-long provider
sentiment, include better public reporting of survey results, joint
education of providers and surveyors, and greater overall consistency
in the process. The 31 recommendations include short- and long-term goals, such as
improving communication to surveyors and providers about new
requirements and changes to the survey process; standardized job
descriptions for surveyors; and flexibility to adapt to culture change.
The full report can be found at: http://www.aahsa.org/advocacy/nursing_homes/documents/SCTF_Report_FINAL.pdf.
The law firm of Urban Thier Federer & Jackson, P.A. is proud to
protect residents from abuse and neglect in Florida nursing homes,
assisted living facilities, adult family-care homes, board and care
facilities, and other similar residential adult care facilities, or, at
minimum, seek justice for those already injured in these settings.
protect residents from abuse and neglect in Florida nursing homes,
assisted living facilities, adult family-care homes, board and care
facilities, and other similar residential adult care facilities, or, at
minimum, seek justice for those already injured in these settings.
The
firm is most active in the Central Florida area, including Brevard,
Lake, Orange, Osceola, Polk, Seminole, and Volusia Counties, but has
also handled cases throughout the state of Florida, including Baker,
Clay, Flagler, Marion, Citrus, Hernando, Sumter, Pinellas,
Hillsborough, Manatee, and Sarasota Counties.
firm is most active in the Central Florida area, including Brevard,
Lake, Orange, Osceola, Polk, Seminole, and Volusia Counties, but has
also handled cases throughout the state of Florida, including Baker,
Clay, Flagler, Marion, Citrus, Hernando, Sumter, Pinellas,
Hillsborough, Manatee, and Sarasota Counties.
After years of defending physicians working in long term
care facilities and, to an even greater degree, defending the
facilities themselves – both in Texas and in Florida – I, and this
firm, now serve the needs of those being abused and neglected in the
long-term care setting. Although experience has shown that there are
compassionate care givers who work in the long-term care industry, not
all of the staff working at such facilities care about the needs of
their facilities’ elderly and vulnerable resident population. Moreover,
even those who enter the profession with high ideals and a desire to
provide a high level of care to the residents within their charge often
become jaded because they are overworked and underpaid for their
efforts by their employers – the very facilities charged with ensuring
the welfare of its residents. Corporate greed leads to inadequate
facility budgets and compromises the ability to provide the level of
care legally mandated by the “Resident’s Bill of Rights,” as reflected
in the Florida Statutes. Corporate greed also undermines the moral
obligation to care for those who number amongst the most frail and
defenseless in our population. All too often my conferences with staff,
as the defense attorney for the long term care facility, led to
comments by registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and certified
nursing assistants that they were so overworked that if they actually
provided all of the care that residents were supposed to receive on a
daily basis then they would not reach all of the residents in their
care and some would even die. Thus, these caregivers learn to cut
corners and skip steps in the care plan – some of which result in
disastrous consequences for the residents in their supposed care.
Spouses of husbands and wives with dementia pay an emotional toll as
they care for their ailing spouse. This has prompted a call for new
interventions and strategies to assist caregivers in coping with the
demands of this difficult time, according to a study from Case Western
Reserve University's Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences.
"Caregivers have a long exposure to stresses and losses from the
dementia and fatigue that comes from caring for their spouses, so they
experience fewer positive emotions," said Kathryn Betts Adams,
assistant professor of social work at the Mandel School. "Some may have
feelings of guilt about participating in activities with friends or in
the community when their loved ones are no longer able to do so."
Adams added that caregivers also report sadness and loneliness.
they care for their ailing spouse. This has prompted a call for new
interventions and strategies to assist caregivers in coping with the
demands of this difficult time, according to a study from Case Western
Reserve University's Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences.
"Caregivers have a long exposure to stresses and losses from the
dementia and fatigue that comes from caring for their spouses, so they
experience fewer positive emotions," said Kathryn Betts Adams,
assistant professor of social work at the Mandel School. "Some may have
feelings of guilt about participating in activities with friends or in
the community when their loved ones are no longer able to do so."
Adams added that caregivers also report sadness and loneliness.
