Money moves
Senate Finance Committee Holds Hearing on SNF Medicare Payment Adequacy
Senators heard testimony on whether current Medicare SNF payments are adequate, with witnesses citing the gap between the 10.8% Medicare margin and the -2.1% total all-payer margin.
Workforce
Federal Staffing Mandate Implementation Deadline Approaches
With the Phase 2 staffing mandate deadline of July 1, 2026 approaching, 31% of facilities still fall below the 3.48 total HPRD minimum, according to the latest PBJ data.
Heads up
Multi-State Legionella Outbreak Traced to Two SNF Cooling Towers
A Legionella outbreak affecting 42 residents across six facilities in Virginia was traced to contaminated cooling towers at two SNFs that had skipped quarterly water management testing.
Regulation
CMS Proposes Real-Time Beneficial Ownership Registry for SNFs
CMS proposed creating a publicly searchable registry of SNF beneficial owners, updated within 48 hours of any ownership change, as part of its transparency initiative.
The bottom line
The gap between Medicare margins and total margins tells the real story of SNF finances, and 31% of facilities still cannot meet the staffing floor.