CMS Rule Expands Long-Term Care Facility Administrators’ Responsibility to Report Facility Closures

Posted by Jason Greis on March 2, 2011 under Articles | Be the First to Comment

On February 18, 2011, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued an interim final rule (Interim Rule) implementing Section 6113 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).  The Interim Rule, which becomes effective March 23, 2011, requires administrators of long-term care facilities (LTCF), including skilled nursing facilities (SNF) eligible for reimbursement under Medicare and nursing facilities (NF) eligible for reimbursement under Medicaid, to submit prior written notification of an impending LTCF closure to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (Secretary), the state’s long-term care ombudsman and residents of the facility and their legal representatives or other responsible parties.  LTCF administrators that do not comply with the new notice requirements may face sanctions, including civil monetary penalties of up to $100,000 and exclusion from participation in Federal health care programs.  In addition, LTCFs must have related policies in place to avoid being cited for survey deficiencies. Read More...

2011 Medicare Payment Update for Post-Acute Care Providers

Posted by Jason Greis on August 3, 2010 under Articles | Read the First Comment

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) has recently released various notices and final rules updating 2011 Medicare payment rates for post-acute care providers, including long-term acute care hospitals (“LTACHs”), inpatient rehabilitation facilities (“IRFs”), skilled nursing facilities (“SNFs”), home health agencies (“HHAs”) and hospices.  These Medicare rate updates generally implement negative payment adjustments mandated by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Pub. L. No. 111-148), as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (Pub. L. No. 111-152) (together, “PPACA”).  Yet in spite of these adjustments, SNFs, hospices, IRFs and LTACH have fared relatively well with collective Medicare payment increases totaling $919 million, with HHAs offsetting these reimbursement gains by suffering a proposed $900 million Medicare reimbursement cut for calendar year 2011. Read More...

McGuireWoods 2010 North Carolina Healthcare Provider Conference and Post-Acute & Senior Care Conference

Posted by Jason Greis on June 22, 2010 under Events, eNewsletter | Be the First to Comment

2010 North Carolina Healthcare Provider Conference and Post-Acute & Senior Care Conference Read More...

Post-Acute Care Investments: Key Business, Deal Structure and Diligence Issues

Posted by Jason Greis on under Events | Be the First to Comment

Post-Acute Care Investments:
Key Business, Deal Structure & Diligence Read More...

Virtues and Vices of Medicare Episode of Care Payment Bundling: A Look at PPACA’s Pilot Program

Posted by Jason Greis on April 30, 2010 under Presentations | Be the First to Comment

The attached presentation addressing the potential benefits and drawbacks of CMS’s Pilot Program under PPACA to develop an episode of care bundled payment model for acute care, post-acute care, physician and outpatient services was presented at the Chicago Bar Association on Friday, April 30, 2010.  Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Read More...

Illinois Not-for-Profit Property Tax Exemptions, Charity Care and the Provena Decision

Posted by Jason Greis on March 23, 2010 under Articles | Be the First to Comment

Late last week the Illinois Supreme Court (the Court) issued its long-anticipated decision in the case of Provena Covenant Medical Center v. Illinois Department of Revenue (Provena). The Court’s opinion, delivered by Justice Karmeier, upheld the Illinois Department of Revenue (Revenue) Director Brian Hamer’s ruling that Provena Covenant Medical Center, located in Urbana, Ill. (PCMC), did not provide enough charity care services to justify the continuation of its charitable purpose property tax exemption. The Court’s opinion noted that PCMC’s parent company, Provena Hospitals, was the true property owner of PCMC, and that Provena Hospitals itself was not a charitable institution nor did it primarily serve charitable purposes. Furthermore, the Court held that PCMC provided only minimal levels of charity care thus the property was not being primarily used for charitable purposes. The Court’s decision will be problematic for not-for-profit hospitals, including LTACHs, because it leaves a key question unanswered—just how much charity must a hospital provide to justify an exemption? The decision is expected to encourage local taxing bodies to pursue efforts to remove tax exemptions of not-for-profit hospitals and other providers. Read More...