Money moves
SNF Medicare Spending Topped $33.8B in FY2025, Up 5.2%
CMS actuarial data shows total SNF Medicare spending reached $33.8B in FY2025, a 5.2% increase driven by higher acuity admissions and PDPM case-mix growth.
Legislation
Senate HELP Committee Advances SNF Transparency Act 18-4
The SNF Ownership Transparency Act cleared the HELP Committee with an 18-4 vote, setting up a potential floor vote early in 2026 with bipartisan momentum.
Heads up
GAO Finds 18% of Five-Star Ratings Inconsistent With Survey Results
A GAO audit of CMS's Five-Star Quality Rating System found that 18% of facilities had overall ratings that did not align with their health inspection scores, citing formula lag.
Deal watch
Ensign Group Acquires 8 SNFs in Nevada and Utah for $98M
Ensign Group added eight facilities totaling 880 beds across Las Vegas and Salt Lake City markets at an average price of $111K per bed.
The bottom line
Medicare SNF spending is climbing past $33B, the transparency bill just cleared a major hurdle, and Five-Star accuracy is under fire from GAO.