McKnight’s Home Care, July 21, 2026: “Every dollar the federal government allows to be lost to fraud, waste and abuse is a dollar stolen from American patients and from the American taxpayer,” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said during the press conference.
Month: July 2026
NEW PUBLIC CHARGE RULE COULD CREATE BARRIERS TO LTSS, WORKFORCE
McKnight’s Senior Living, July 20, 2026: The new rule rescinds a Biden-era regulation that DHS said restricted which public benefits the agency could consider in its determinations.
OVER 25% OF NURSING HOMES REPORTED A SERIOUS DEIFICIENCY IN 2026, WITH 5% LINKED TO IJs, ACTUAL HARM
Skilled Nursing News, July 17, 2026: That’s about 6,700 health deficiencies categorized as IJs or actual harm. Most involved isolated incidents rather than widespread problems…
SNF SECTOR DIGESTS PHYSICIAN PAYMENT RULE, GIVES INITIAL TAKES
Park Place, July 15: 2026: Issued late on July 14 by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the SNF sector’s first reaction was to applaud the proposed rule’s fix of a policy error from last year to equalize SNF physician payments to be the same for both long-stay residents and short-stay patients.
CMS TO REWARD HIGHER-PERFORMING NURSING HOMES WITH “STREAMLINED” REVIEWS, FAVORABLE ONLINE ICON
McKnight’s LTC News, July 16, 2026: About 1 in 8 (12%) of nursing homes will qualify for the new risk-based survey initially, officials said. The first will take place Sept. 8, which is the same month the new icon will be initiated.
AHEAD OF POTENTIAL AUGUST CMS DEREGULATION RULE, NURSING HOMES CALL FOR REFORM
Skilled Nursing News, July 10, 2026: “We have submitted detailed recommendations on a better way to make the nursing home oversight system more effective and efficient while upholding accountability and transparency…”
EXPANDING CMS SHIFT FROM INPATIENT TO OUTPATIENT PROCEDURES THREATENS SKILLED NURSING STAYS
McKnight’s LTC News, July 9, 2026: The latest proposed changes — affecting mostly auditory, diaphragmatic, digestive, endocrine, respiratory and urinary procedures — are the second round.
NURSING HOMES ADD 3,000 JOBS IN JUNE, REACHING PRE-PANDEMIC WORKFORCE LEVELS
McKnight’s Senior Living, July 7, 2026: “The demand for caregivers is growing faster than the available labor pool, and providers across the country continue to face recruitment and retention challenges every day. That’s why we must build on this momentum…”
PROVIDERS CAUTION AGAINST OVERLY BROAD ENFORCEMENT AS CMS PURSUES NEW MEDICARE DISENROLLMENT AVENUES
McKnight’s LTC News, July 5, 2026: Provisions proposed in the 2027 Home Health payment rule would give the agency the right to revoke enrollment in the Medicare program based solely on a nursing home’s location in what is deemed a “high risk” geographic area.