SEPTEMBER 2010 • VOL. 31, NO. 9 • www.mcknights.com
Atypical
employee
Karen
Schoeneman,
CMS stalwart
Page 62
State-aid deal frees Liability costs
trending down
new Medicaid funds By James M. Berklan
Liability costs for long-term care
operators dropped slightly over
the last year, according to a new
analysis by insurer Aon.
Spinal taps may predict Alzheimer’s. The study also showed that
the percentage of Medicaid daily
Tapping into funding used to pay liability-relat-
ed expenses has declined steadily
Alzheimer’s over the last decade.
The average annual loss cost
By James M. Berklan per occupied bed dropped $10, or
A study has found that spinal tap not quite 1%, to $1,270 in 2009,
fluid accurately identified those according to the Aon report.
who would develop Alzheimer’s The average loss cost was $1,710
Photo: newscom
disease 100% of the time. per bed in 2001—35% higher
Researchers in Belgium iden- than the most recent figures.
tified levels of three biomarkers The percentage of per diem
associated with Alzheimer’s in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called back her members from summer recess Aug. Medicaid reimbursements used
the participants’ spinal fluid and 10 to