10 Mar
Special Focus Facilities – New Details, New Watchlist
Understanding SFFs CMS’s Special Focus Facility (SFF) Program was implemented in 1998 and has made its share of the headlines over the years. Senators Bob Casey and Pat Toomey raised concerns in 2019, leading to the first publication of the list of SFF Candidates. Their 2021 proposal calls for further oversight and expansion of the program […]
11 Jul
Sea Change in the Staffing Star Rating
Change is Inevitable On Thursday July 8, CMS finally announced the details of the long-awaited changes to the Staffing Star Rating calculations. CMS had previously signaled their intention to incorporate weekend staffing and turnover measures into the Star Rating, but hadn’t indicated how they might do that until now. Here at StarPRO, we’re hard at […]
29 Oct
Think Local: StarPRO’s new Local Market Rating
Healthcare is Local Whether seeking long-term care or rehabbing after surgery, patients typically seek care close to home. But if there’s more than one option, how do they choose? Hospital discharge planners are required to provide a list of local facilities (and their CMS star ratings) to choose from. Patients are advised to visit the facility (or […]
02 Jun
Fixes for the “Broken” Nursing Home Star Ratings Part 3: Quality
Source: CMS Welcome to the third installment of our four-part series on improving the CMS Five-Star rating system for nursing homes. This month, we move from Staffing to Quality, the last of the three domains. Why Is Quality Last? The fact that Quality is last is the perfect way to start. Isn’t in strange […]
05 May
Fixes for the “Broken” Nursing Home Star Ratings Part 2: Staffing
Source: CMS Welcome to the second installment of our four-part series on how the CMS Five-Star rating system for Nursing Homes can be improved. Last month we covered the Survey domain and this month, we’re turning our focus to Staffing. From the perspective of the operator or administrator, staffing represents a constant battle. On one […]
04 Apr
Fixes for the “Broken” Nursing Home Star Ratings Part 1: Survey
Source: CMS It’s not a surprise to see Nursing Homes in the news, and it’s usually not to paint a sunny picture. Issues related to COVID-19 have understandably dominated much of the recent coverage, but a March article in the New York Times took aim at a different target – CMS’s Star Ratings system. Articles […]
20 Feb
SNF Trends Report Underlines Correlation Between Star Ratings, Occupancy and Operating Margin
Image credit: CLA Recently, respected advisory firm CliftonLarsonAllen released their latest SNF Cost Comparison and Industry Trends Report. CLA explores several prevailing themes in an industry besieged by challenges, including issues with decreased liquidity and occupancy, the rise of telehealth, and the continuing importance of PDPM to the bottom line. But one of the findings […]