Latest KFF Health News Stories
‘Like A Ghost Town’: Erratic Nursing Home Staffing Revealed Through New Records
Daily nursing home payroll records just released by the federal government show the number of nurses and aides dips far below average on some days and consistently plummets on weekends.
Readers And Tweeters Let Loose Over Kids Being Detained At The Border — And More
Kaiser Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
Medicare Takes Aim At Boomerang Hospitalizations Of Nursing Home Patients
One in 5 Medicare patients who leave the hospital for a nursing home end up back in the hospital. To discourage this, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will soon give bonuses and penalties to facilities based on their rehospitalization rates.
Look-Up: Compare Nursing Homes’ Track Records On Boomerang Hospitalizations
Use this tool to see how skilled nursing homes in the U.S. performed on two metrics of quality.
Weak Oversight Blamed For Poor Care At California Nursing Homes Going Unchecked
The scathing report cites a significant increase in cases of poor care — especially ones with the potential to cause serious injuries or death. A state lawmaker called the findings “very, very disturbing.”
Voces oficiales aseguran que esta supervisión deficiente hizo que el número de incidentes que podrían causar lesiones graves o la muerte haya aumentado significativamente en los últimos años.
User-Friendly Or Error-Ridden? Debate Swirls Around Website Comparing Nursing Homes
State says its new site is easier to navigate, though it remains a work in progress. Advocates for nursing home patients call it “a huge step in the wrong direction” that could endanger people’s lives.
State Pay Cut For Dental Hygienists Who Serve The Poor Was Illegal, Court Finds
California officials should have obtained federal approval before they cut reimbursement rates for dental hygienists who serve frail Californians living in nursing homes and board-and-care facilities, a judge has ruled.
Care Suffers As More Nursing Homes Feed Money Into Corporate Webs
Increasingly, owners of nursing homes outsource services to companies in which they also have financial interest or control. That allows the nursing homes to claim to be in the red while owners reap hidden profits.
Trump Administration Relaxes Financial Penalties Against Nursing Homes
Medicare is discouraging regional offices from levying fines for “one-time mistakes” or from using daily fines that seek to put pressure on nursing homes to make changes.
Infection Lapses Rampant In Nursing Homes But Punishment Is Rare
A Kaiser Health News analysis of federal inspection records shows that nursing home inspectors labeled mistakes in infection control as serious for only 161 of the 12,056 homes they have cited since 2014.
When Nursing Homes Push Out Poor And Disabled Patients
Complaints are rising in California and other states about improper evictions and discharges. Advocates say some patients end up in cheap hotels, homeless or back in the hospital.
Chasing Millions In Medicaid Dollars, Hospitals Buy Up Nursing Homes
The strategy has been used mostly in Indiana, where many county-owned hospitals purchased or leased nursing homes to take advantage of a wrinkle in Medicaid payment rules and augment federal reimbursements.
Why Glaring Quality Gaps Among Nursing Homes Are Likely To Grow If Medicaid Is Cut
Medicaid covers about two-thirds of nursing home residents, but it pays less than other types of insurance.
Nursing Home Disaster Plans Often Faulted As ‘Paper Tigers’
Too often enforcement of rules for dealing with crisis is lax, advocates for nursing home residents say.
Counting On Medicaid To Avoid Life In A Nursing Home? That’s Now Up To Congress.
Tighter Medicaid budgets could jeopardize states’ home-based services that help older adults and disabled people live in their homes instead of more expensive nursing homes.
Nursing Homes Move Into The Insurance Business
Although proponents say the policies offered by nursing homes are more attuned to patients, some report frustrations when trying to dispute care decisions.
Half The Time, Nursing Homes Scrutinized On Safety By Medicare Are Still Treacherous
Of the 528 nursing homes that graduated from special focus status before 2014 and are still operating, more than half — 52 percent — have harmed patients or operated in a way that put patients in serious jeopardy within the past three years, a KHN analysis finds.
In The End, Even The Middle Class Would Feel GOP Squeeze On Nursing Home Care
Medicaid pays for two-thirds of nursing home residents, but some recipients don’t even know they’re on it.
AARP: States Lag In Keeping Medicaid Enrollees Out Of Nursing Homes
States are not doing enough to help elderly and disabled Medicaid enrollees receive services in homes and community locations instead of in nursing homes, where care is more expensive, AARP report says.
