Jordan Rau

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jrau@kff.org

How Well Does Your Nursing Home Fight Infections? Look It Up Here

More nursing homes have been faulted for failing to follow practices designed to prevent and control infections than for any other type of error. Such lapses have become matters of heightened concern with the spread of the coronavirus this spring, especially as the virus is a bigger threat to the elderly.

As Coronavirus Cases Grow, So Does Scrutiny Of Nursing Home Infection Plans

Seema Verma, administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, calls on state and federal health inspectors to focus on how facilities keep infections from spreading, especially in areas that have reported coronavirus cases.

Coronavirus Stress Test: Many 5-Star Nursing Homes Have Infection-Control Lapses

Since the beginning of 2017, inspectors have cited more nursing homes for failing to ensure that all workers follow federal prevention and control protocols than for any other type of violation, according to federal records.

New Round of Medicare Readmission Penalties Hits 2,583 Hospitals

Starting today, Medicare is keeping half a billion dollars in payments from 83% of general hospitals for having too many patients come back. As in the past, California hospitals were penalized less frequently and less severely than the national average.

Hospitals Accused Of Paying Doctors Large Kickbacks In Quest For Patients

Hospitals are eager to get particular specialists on staff because they bring in business that can be highly profitable. But those efforts, if they involve unusually high salaries or other enticements, can violate federal anti-kickback laws.

Short-Staffed Nursing Homes See Drop In Medicare Ratings

In its latest update to the Nursing Home Compare website, the government gave 1,638 homes its lowest star rating for staffing — one star on its five-star scale. Most were downgraded because payroll records reported no registered-nurse hours at all for at least four days.