Government
Publishes Information About Nursing Home Quality
Written
By:
Jeffrey
A. Marshall*
The
Federal Government's
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has released data on the
quality of care delivered at the 17,000 nursing homes around the nation
that care for Medicare or Medicaid patients.
But another government agency has described the data as
"inaccurate" and calls its release "premature."
The
data, some of which was published in 71 newspapers on November 13th,
is available on the Web at www.medicare.gov/NHCompare/Home.asp.
Information about specific nursing homes is also available by phone
or mail by calling 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227).
On its website, CMS presents the results of up to 10 measures of
quality or performance for each nursing home. The measures include the
percentage of residents who are in physical restraints or who have
infection, bedsores or pain. Although
results from such measures could simply reflect the type of population a
facility treats, CMS officials say many of the numbers were adjusted to
account for the severity of a patient's illness.
But
one day after CMS launched the guide, the General Accounting Office (GAO)
issued a report labeling the guide "premature", saying that its
information might be "confusing and inaccurate."
The GAO report says the data does not give consumers "apples
to apples" comparisons that can easily be understood and that some of
the guide's data may be "flawed."
The GAO report calls for a delay to further refine the project.
The GAO report is available online at: http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d03187high.pdf.
The
release of the data came just six weeks after the Federal
Government
cut Medicare payments to nursing homes by 10 percent.
New
Report Helps Seniors Choose The Right Medicare Managed-Care Plan
Deciding
which Medicare Managed-Care Plan will best meet your needs can be a
confusing and difficult process. If
you are struggling to make the right decision, a new report can help.
The Department of Aging and the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost
Containment Council (PHC 4) have issued a report that will allow older
Pennsylvanians to make better-informed decisions about their managed-care
options.
The
Report, released on December 10, 2002, is broken down by region and
compares the state's Medicare managed-care plans by factors such as
monthly premiums, description of benefits, and member satisfaction.
In general, these plans have open enrollment, and accept new
members regardless of health status, although anyone considering
enrollment should review the plan for possible restrictions.
A free
copy of the report is available by contacting PCH4 at (717) 232-6787 or
the Department of Aging at (717) 783-1550.
The report can also be found on-line at www.state.pa.us,
PA Keyword: "aging" or at http://www.phc4.org
The
Department of Health Adopts Interim Regulations Governing Out of the
Hospital Do-Not-Resuscitate
Orders
As
required by Act 59, the Department of Health has adopted interim
regulations governing Out of the Hospital Do-Not-Resuscitate Orders.
The
regulations appear in the December 14th issue of the Pennsylvania
Bulletin. It is available
online at:
http://www.pabulletin.com/secure/data/vol32/32-50/2223.html
__________________________________________________________
*Attorney
Marshall is certified as an Elder Law Attorney by the National Elder Law
Foundation under authorization from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court
© 2000-2005
Marshall & Associates www.paelderlaw.com
