News

The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) is working on a couple of studies funded by legislation passed in 2017 that authorized the beginning of a process for updating Elderly Waiver rates. One of those studies has a focus on Adult Day Services, including how it is licensed and paid for in other states. 

Don’t wait! Nominations for the LeadingAge Minnesota Board of Directors and Honorary Lifetime Memberships are due by Friday, Aug. 10.  

Care centers are set to receive an increase in funding as a result of the final payment and policy rule released today by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The rule also contains a new case-mix model, the Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM), that will determine reimbursement levels based on condition and care needs rather than the amount of care provided. 

Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs) identified as not meeting the 80 percent reporting threshold under the SNF Quality Reporting Program (QRP) recently received a letter from National Government Services, the Medicare contract agency for Minnesota, informing them that they will be subject to a 2 percent reduction on their Medicare fee-for-service rates beginning Oct. 1, 2018. SNFs who received these letters can request reconsideration by Aug. 7.  

The OnTrack Nursing Assistant Training program is seeing incredible state exam results! We currently we have 60 sites adopting the program, with 104 RN Trainers and 135 students. Student testing data shows: 

LeadingAge Minnesota is now accepting nominations for the Board of Directors and Honorary Memberships. Applications are due by Friday, Aug. 10. 

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) recently released the application materials for this year’s round of the nursing facility moratorium exceptions process. Care centers interested in applying will need to complete and submit the required application materials by Dec. 20. To help members evaluate whether they should apply, LeadingAge Minnesota is hosting a Moratorium Exceptions webinar on Thursday, Aug. 9. 

LeadingAge Minnesota is now accepting nominations for the recognition of Lifetime Honorary Membership. This honor is provided to persons of distinction by election each year during our Annual Meeting & Leadership Forum in September.  

The OnTrack Nursing Assistant Training program has seen 100 nurses complete the Train the Trainer course! Those 100 RN Trainers are now supporting OnTrack Nursing Assistant programs all over the state. 

The 2018 LeadingAge Minnesota Nominating Committee is seeking nominations for candidates for the 2019 Board of Directors. Nominations are due by Friday, Aug. 10.

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) held a statewide regulatory call for care centers on July 16 and provided updates on commonly-cited deficiencies and other topics. MDH recorded Monday’s call and will post the recording on its webpage within the next week, and it will remain archived there for 90 days. Here are notes from the call: 

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) last week released a proposed rule on physician payment that would take effect for calendar year 2019. Included are several proposals for updating and changing those payment practices, but the changes of most significance to LeadingAge Minnesota members are the proposed expansion of coverage of telehealth services. 

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) issued a number of regulatory updates in the two weeks since we last published Advantage. Care centers will want to take note of these items: 

The New York Times recently published an article (‘It’s Almost Like a Ghost Town.’ Most Nursing Homes Overstated Staffing for Years. July 7, 2018) that calls into question staffing levels in nursing homes. The article cites data analyzed by Kaiser Health News that nursing homes submit to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) each quarter via the Payroll-Based Journal (PBJ) system, as well as staffing data that facilities previously submitted annually using the CMS-671 form.   

OnTrack Nursing Assistant Training has been available for seven months and now has 55 organizations enrolled. Of those 55 organizations, 16 have been approved by the Minnesota Department of Health and 39 are in the application process.  

Are you looking for ways to boost your organization’s performance or 5-Star rating? Quality Apex is an affordable, secure, web-based analytics tool that translates your most current MDS 3.0 data into actionable information to improve quality and outcomes. 

The Long-Term Care Imperative's annual nursing facility financial indicators survey shows a continued a trend of improvement that started in 2016, largely due to the new Value-Based Reimbursement (VBR) system that began on Jan. 1, 2016. Despite the improvement, the data makes clear that providers continue to face significant financial challenges.   

The deadline for our annual salary survey has been extended to July 27. By taking time today to complete this important survey, you will receive two free reports that will help you judge the competitiveness of your compensation program in this dynamic job market. 

OnTrack Nursing Assistant Training has been available for six months and has enrolled 120 students to date. Based on student outcomes, OnTrack is providing quality training: State Exam results are trending 6 percent higher than the statewide average, with a 90 percent overall pass rate.

Falls are one of the top categories of substantiated OHFC reports in Home Care/Assisted Living settings in Minnesota. Members should be taking the necessary steps to prevent falls in their community. Our new Assisted Living Fall Prevention Learning & Improvement Collaborative will give you the tools you need to implement an effective falls prevention program and reduce costs for your organization.