Literature Review

OIG’s Audit of Nursing Home Workers in Louisiana Finds Flaws in Background Check ProcessSkilled Nursing NewsDecember 6, 2023A federally commissioned report released Wednesday found that nursing homes in Louisiana failed to complete background checks on a portion of their non-licensed employees. In conducting the audit to examine whether Louisiana nursing homes complied with federal requirements for backgrounds checks, the Office of Inspector General chose a sample of 9 Louisiana nursing homes out of a total of 276 licensed facilities in the state, basing its sample size on a variety of risk factors and on the need to select nursing homes in urban and rural settings, the agency said. ... The OIG report states. “Although Federal requirements do not specify the methods or types of information that should be considered for a background check to be regarded as having been satisfactorily completed, we identified potential limitations in the nursing homes’ background check searches and adjudication methods for 49 of the 209 non-licensed employees we reviewed.” In response to OIG’s findings and recommendations, Louisiana has agreed to update its standard survey process to ensure routine monitoring of nursing homes’ compliance with background check requirements by reviewing a sample of 5% of current non-licensed staff and by directing nursing homes to conduct self-audits of current personnel files. ... Among the findings, some disturbing practices emerged. Of the 9 nursing homes closely investigated, six nursing homes, and some of the staffing companies with which they contracted, had employee background check searches conducted that did not include a statewide search of State police records.

CMS’ New Transparency Rule Can Help ‘Weed Out a Few Bad Actors’ but Won’t Impact Deals Much, Other Factors at PlaySkilled Nursing NewsDecember 6, 2023Nursing home ownership changes have largely been embraced by the industry and will have little impact on deal activity, with the new transparency rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services having very little impact on the sector. Instead, the new rule will force nursing homes to report ownership details during critical junctures like Medicare or Medicaid applications and recertification, according to executive managing director of VIUM Capital, Steven W. Kennedy. And if anything, the new transparency rule will eliminate any bad actors on the real estate and operating side because these might cause them “discomfort,” and that’s certainly better for the industry, he said. “Every industry no matter where you are has some bad actors,” he said. “I think in general, skilled nursing has very few bad apples, but if they’re out there, this can help weed them out.” 

Insights on Exposing, Resolving Chronic Underfunding of Nursing HomesSkilled Nursing NewsDecember 5, 2023As nursing homes grapple with a tough economic and labor environment—which has forced closures and created access issues—patient and nursing home advocates underscored the emotional toll of care, calling upon the federal and state governments to do more to address new and emerging generational challenges to care. 

Nursing home staffing rule finds scant political supportModern HealthcareDecember 4, 2023President Joe Biden’s high-profile plan to improve nursing home quality by setting staffing minimums has attracted intense resistance and lukewarm support, regulatory comments and public statements reveal. The nursing home industry strenuously opposes the policy, which the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services proposed Sept. 1.

State’s regulators under fire for not imposing ‘meaningful’ punishment on operatorsMcKnight’s Senior LivingDecember 4, 2023If provider punishments in Maine ramp up in the near future, operators won’t need to look far for the catalyst. A ProPublica investigation into what it calls the failures of the state’s oversight agencies is creating a lot of heat in and around the sector. ... In partnership with The Maine Monitor, ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network shined a spotlight on the state’s health department for citing dozens of resident rights violations and hundreds of other deficiencies between 2020 and 2022 but imposing only the “lowest intervention possible, even for some of the most serious abuse and neglect incidents.” ... Long-term care advocates said that a lack of regulatory enforcement essentially encourages bad behavior. Industry representatives called for increasing nursing hours and requiring on-site medical directors in assisted living rather than imposing sanctions.

Nursing Home Occupancy ‘Disappointingly Flat’ in November but States’ Medicaid Rebasing EncouragingSkilled Nursing NewsDecember 1, 2023Healthcare Real Estate Investment Trusts specializing in post-acute care facilities experienced “disappointingly flat” occupancy rates in November, according to investment analysts. BMO Capital Market’s Juan Sanabria highlighted the challenges faced by skilled nursing facilities in maintaining growth, with market share loss to home health. ... In terms of REIT exposure and risks, the note pointed out that SNF coverage appeared to have bottomed out as occupancy and labor availability had improved. This trend is evident from recent quarterly earnings from several large publicly-traded REITs.

Casey and Fetterman back proposed nursing home staffing rules as Pa. industry objects

Four Iowa care facilities added to federal watchlist of nursing homes

‘Operating Pressures Are Very Intense’—Ohio Living CEO on Skilled Nursing Strategy and Mega-Trends