News

The Nursing Home Workforce Quality Act (H.R.4468) introduced in Congress last week would remove the mandatory two-year waiting period to reinstate a nursing home provider's CNA training authority that is imposed when fines exceed a certain level.  

Citing the importance of direct care workers in all sectors of the long-term services and supports field, and the millions of workers who will be needed in the next five years, a new bill in Congress establishes grants to recruit, retain, and support direct care workers.   

Katie Smith Sloan, President & CEO of LeadingAge National, recently put out a bold call to action to take long-term care from being a sleeper issue in election season to one that boosts a candidate out of the 2020 pack. It’s called #DearCandidate and you can help aging take the center stage.

LeadingAge National members are invited to join the Capitol Hill Insights Call on Thursday, Sept. 26 at 3 p.m. to get the latest news from Congress and how you can help us make a difference in aging services policy.  

Good news for providers and stakeholders who are finalizing their transition to the Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM) that goes into effect Oct. 1: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released the final version of the MDS 3.0 RAI Manual (version 1.17.1).  

Are you up to speed on the MDS? One of the benefits of being a member of LeadingAge National is access to Judy Wilhilde Brandt, our MDS-expert consultant.  

Effective immediately, HUD providers of Section 202 Housing for the Elderly with Project Rental Assistance Contracts (202/PRACs) can begin to leverage private capital to preserve their affordable housing over the long-term.  

Congress returned from recess on Sept. 9 with a long to-do list, which LeadingAge national has unpacked to help you stay up-to-date on key issues affecting our field.   

NTAs. You’re hearing a lot about them as part of the new Payment-Drive Payment Model that goes into effect Oct. 1. What are NTAs? Non-therapy ancillaries (NTAs) are a long list of diagnostic categories and clinical support services needed to care for residents in a skilled nursing facility that may be more medically complex or demonstrate a higher acuity. Under PDPM, 50 conditions and extensive services are considered for NTA classification.  

As we have earlier reported, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a proposed rule that would lighten some existing regulatory burdens for nursing facilities and delay implementation of certain Phase 3 requirements. Recently some LeadingAge MN members have asked whether the proposed rule – if it becomes final – would delay all Phase 3 requirements, and the answer is no. 

LeadingAge will submit comments to a new proposed rule from the U.S Housing & Urban Affairs Department (HUD) that would make drastic changes to the current process for asserting Disparate Impact.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) last week posted the FINAL version (V3.00.1) of the MDS 3.0 Data Specifications for Skilled Nursing Facilities, which take effect Oct. 1. They also released the file of the allowable ICD codes in item I0020B of the MDS.   

The Centers for Medicare & Medicare Services (CMS) notified Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNF) on Aug. 22 that there was a calculation error in the FY2016 baseline period performance data that excluded certain SNF stays erroneously. CMS will be issuing corrected FY2020 Performance Score Reports no later than Aug. 31. 

The National Council on Aging has denounced a new inadmissibility rule that could force immigrant seniors to choose between paying for long-term care support and losing their immigration status.  

In last week’s Advantage, we featured a story on new guidance for heightened scrutiny review of newly-constructed presumptively institutional settings under the Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Settings rule. This week we are sharing additional detail from the Bulletin on how new construction settings required to undergo heightened scrutiny can qualify for Medicaid (waiver) reimbursement and providing examples of reimbursement pathways for new construction settings.  

The release of guidance implementing Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) for PRAC, expected earlier this spring or summer, is still delayed and may not be issued until early fall.  

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued additional updates to the State Operations Manual Appendix Q, including guidance to surveyors on citing immediate jeopardy.  

As we reported earlier this summer, Livanta replaced KEPRO as the Beneficiary and Family Centered Care (BFCC) Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) for Minnesota effective June 8, 2019. The purpose of the BFCC-QIO is to conduct quality of care reviews, beneficiary complaint reviews, and discharge and termination of service appeals in various Medicare provider settings. Livanta requires a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) from providers.  To complete a new MOA and read frequently asked questions (FAQs), click here. 

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will share information on fiscal year 2020 skilled nursing facility payment policies during a Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNF)/Long Term Care Open Door Forum this Thursday, Aug. 8, at 1 p.m.  

As the numbers of veterans who will need nursing home care is anticipated to increase by 16% between 2017 and 2022, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is calling for stricter oversight of their care – particularly in state veterans’ homes.