NIC Notes

Insights in Seniors Housing & Care

Economic Trends

The Financial and Emotional Rollercoaster of Caregiving

By: Liz Liberman  |  August 01, 2016

The burden of caring for a loved one has been in the news recently. Last year, AARP reported that in 2013, an estimated 40 million people acted as caregivers, assisting with at least one activity of daily living (ADL) and providing $470 billion in uncompensated care over 37 billion hours. That’s a sum greater than Belgium’s GDP in 2015. In fact, the total value of uncompensated care exceeded the total Medicare spend in that year by over $20 billion. And these figures don’t even begin to touch upon the emotional price of being a caregiver.

Economic Trends  |  Regulatory Environment  |  Skilled Nursing

Five-Star Changes Go Live Today

By: Liz Liberman  |  July 27, 2016

All Medicare-certified skilled nursing facilities are subject to the Five-Star Quality Rating System and Nursing Home Compare, which were established, implemented, and maintained by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS). Both programs use metrics to judge the quality of skilled nursing properties. Nursing Home Compare is a website where consumers can gather information about quality metrics for every eligible skilled nursing property to use for comparison shopping. Most of the quality metrics displayed on Nursing Home Compare are used as part of the input to establish a skilled nursing property’s Five-Star rating, with five-star facilities considered the highest quality.

Economic Trends  |  Market Trends  |  Senior Housing

An Important Milestone Reached

By: Beth Mace  |  July 20, 2016

The second quarter 2016 data release marks another milestone for NIC and the NIC MAP® Data Service. With this release, we’re excited to officially launch our coverage of 41 additional metropolitan markets. The Additional Markets expand NIC MAP’s coverage from 99 to a total 140 metropolitan markets. Approximately 71% of U.S. households headed by someone age 75 and older are situated in these 140 markets.

Economic Trends  |  Skilled Nursing

Developments in Home Health and the Evolution of the Skilled Nursing Competitor/Ally

By: Liz Liberman  |  July 18, 2016

Home health, which provides post-acute medical services directly in a patient’s home, increasingly plays two interesting roles in the post-acute industry: as skilled nursing competitor and potential ally. And as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) pushes for care coordination and value-based purchasing, skilled nursing providers increasingly are forming relationships with home health agencies.

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