News

A proposed rule announced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on July 23 would change eligibility rules for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and lower the number of older adults eligible for SNAP benefits.  

The U.S. Senate Finance Committee held a hearing yesterday on the latest report released by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), Improved Oversight Needed to Better Protect Residents from Abuse. The report states that abuse deficiencies cited in nursing homes have more than doubled between 2013 and 2017.  

Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs) identified as not meeting the 80% reporting threshold under the 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% reduction on their Medicare fee-for-service rates beginning Oct. 1, 2019. If you received this letter, you have the opportunity to request reconsideration by Aug. 15.  

A new report from the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University found that housing production is not keeping pace with the nation’s growth of households, which is creating higher housing costs and increased housing affordability struggles for low- and moderate-income households.  

A report published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) discusses serious care deficiencies found in hospice services and the shortcomings in federal regulation and oversight to prevent these kinds of harm to beneficiaries.  

The final countdown to Phase 3 of the Requirements of Participation that take effect Nov. 28 has begun. These requirements, among other changes, mandate that every care center have a designated and specially trained Infection Preventionist running a comprehensive infection prevention and control program. Are you prepared? 

President Donald Trump signed two Executive Orders last month that will interest LeadingAge members. The first is focused on reducing and removing regulatory burdens that raise the cost of housing development. The second relates to price transparency in health care, but does not apply to aging services providers.  

Registration is open for a two-day Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Quality Reporting Program (QRP) Train-the-Trainer event for providers on Aug.13 and 14. The training, which is primarily intended for those responsible for training staff at care centers, includes:   

A new proposed rule from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) seeks to eliminate nondiscrimination protections in health care and aging services settings for LGBT people and those with limited English proficiency. LeadingAge Minnesota opposes the proposed rule’s removal of these protections.  

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is shifting the way in which it works with community providers to expand the provider network and improve customer service for veterans and timeliness of payment for providers. 

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is continuing its effort to improve how states monitor health and welfare in Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS). This effort, which includes technical assistance to select states, is part of the federal government’s overall health care fraud and abuse control program that was featured in a recent report.   

The House passed its first fiscal year 2020 appropriations bills last week. The $985 billion package includes funding for Older Americans Act (OAA) programs that will help millions of low-income seniors and people with disabilities.  

In a response to a request for comments on how the federal government measures poverty, LeadingAge provided insight on how potential changes to the poverty threshold’s calculation could negatively impact older adults and aging services. 

Congress is getting down to business and moving funding and policy issues that impact aging services providers. 

LeadingAge has provided an overview of recent developments in Housing & Urban Development policies that affect providers of affordable housing. This update features the latest news on the voluntary NSPIRE initiative, HUD instructions on enforcement actions if a property refuses to be inspected, instructions to inspectors to collect information only on carbon monoxide detectors, 14-day scheduling of inspections, and the four reasons HUD Multifamily field offices can delay inspections.  

Effective June 8, 2019, Livanta replaced KEPRO as the Beneficiary and Family Centered Care (BFCC) Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) for Minnesota. This serves as an important reminder that skilled nursing facilities need to take action in relation to the transition to Livanta.  

LeadingAge comments on the Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Prospective Payment System (PPS) proposed rule are now available. Members can also access a fact sheet and summary of  the proposed. 

Observation days are gaining some interest in Congress as more and more consumers express concerns regarding surprise medical bills. 

While expressing a few concerns, Argentum, LeadingAge and other associations representing older adult services called the federal government’s proposed salary threshold of $35,308, under which executive, administrative, professional and certain other employees would be eligible for overtime pay if they work more than 40 hours in a week, reasonable. 

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is shifting the way in which it works with non-Veterans Affairs (VA) providers to expand the provider network and improve customer service for veterans and timeliness of payments for providers.