News for June, 2008

Lifesaving: not an option

How is it possible that it is only now becoming a requirement that nursing home facilities install life-saving sprinkler systems to help protect residents from fire? Up to this point, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) allowed older facilities that did not have these systems an exemption, allowing them to serve Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries despite the lack of this safety precaution. This week, the organization announced these facilities will have a five-year phase-in period, after which time they must have comprehensive sprinkler systems in place.

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Five-star care

This week the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced plans for the establishment of a new ranking system for nursing home performance. Similar to rating systems that the public is familiar with in relation to products or facilities like restaurants and hotels, the new CMS system will rate with a “star” system, with five stars being the best and one star the worst.

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U.S. Senate debates arbitration

A joint meeting of the U.S. Senate Committee on Judiciary, Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition and Consumer Rights and U.S. Senate Aging Committee was held this morning to discuss S. 2838, The Fairness in Nursing Home Arbitration Act, sponsored by Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., chairman of the Senate Aging Committee, and Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla. The bill’s sponsors argued that more facilities are requiring patients and their families to sign mandatory arbitration agreements, signing away their right to sue in the event of or , which they said is unfair.

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