News

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is seeking comments on draft guidance intended to streamline the use of electronic health records (EHRs) and other health information technology (IT). Comments are due Jan. 28.  

A 2.8 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) approved in October will begin with benefits payable to more than 62 million Social Security beneficiaries in January 2019. 

LeadingAge national has submitted comments to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) expressing opposition to its proposed rule broadening the factors used in public charge determinations, meaning whether a legal immigrant would become primarily dependent on the government for subsistence.   

LeadingAge national has submitted comments to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) expressing opposition to its proposed rule broadening the factors used in public charge determinations, meaning whether a legal immigrant would become primarily dependent on the government for subsistence.   

Two new reports shed more light on how Medicare Advantage Organizations (MAOs) evaluated offering the new benefits for 2019 Medicare Advantage plans. The conclusion? Few plans – only 102 – are testing the new benefits in 2019, with more looking to offer some new Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) in 2020. The report also note that challenges remain. 

Nursing Home Compare has a whole new look after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) added five of six Skilled Nursing Facility Quality Reporting Program (QRP) measures to the site on Nov. 28. While the measures are listed under the Quality of Resident Care tab with the other measures of short-stay quality, they are not used to calculate a Skilled Nursing Facility’s Quality star rating. The newly reported measures include:                 

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released individual Skilled Nursing Facilities results from the first year of Value-Based Purchasing (VBP). Under VPB, rates are adjusted based on Skilled Nursing Facility-specific hospital readmission rates. 

The personal needs allowance for nursing facility residents is increased annually by the social security COLA. In the coming year, social security benefits will increase by 2.8 percent, so the personal needs allowance will increase from $99 this year to $102 for the year starting Jan. 1, 2019.  

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will provide information on the Patient Driven Payment Model, the recently-released Nursing Home Staff Competency Assessment toolkit, and other issues during a Skilled Nursing Facilities/Long Term Care Open Door Forum onThursday, Nov. 29, at 1 p.m. 

A recently introduced bill in Congress would extend soon-to-expire federal spousal impoverishment protections for spouses of people receiving Medicaid home and community-based services.   

LeadingAge has filed comments in support of the U.S. Department of Labor's proposal to eliminate restrictions on the operation of patient lifts by nursing home employees under the age of 18. 

In a recent call with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), LeadingAge learned that there has been a 2 percent increase in the utilization of Adult Day Services by veterans in recent years, compared to 17 percent growth in other services. To turn this around, the VA expects to roll out several initiatives to boost Adult Day Services options for veterans that include: 

The ACTION Campaign’s state fact sheets have been updated with the most recent data to show the Housing Credit’s impact and the affordable housing needs that remain in every state. New to the state fact sheets this year is data demonstrating the impact that a 50 percent increase in the Housing Credit would have in each state. 

The Lame Duck Session is underway! We need members who serve seniors in affordable housing to contact our congressional delegation this week to ensure that a final fiscal year 2019 HUD appropriations bill is enacted. 

The midterm election brought some big changes for members of Congress with jurisdiction over aging services issues, as well as a fresh outlook on what may be accomplished in the upcoming lame duck session and in the new Congress that will convene in January. 

After the RAI manual updates were released for October 2018, an errata document was posted to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services website concerning J2000: Prior Surgery. In the Coding Tips on page J-35, there were three criteria for a procedure to be classified as major surgery and now there are only two criteria:   

Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Provider Preview Reports are now available for review prior to the January 2019 public display of the performance data on the Nursing Home Compare site. Corrections to the underlying data are not permitted, but providers can request a CMS review if they believe their data scores are being displayed inaccurately. Requests for review must be made by Nov. 30.  

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the addition of new data to Nursing Home Compare. The following measures have been added: 

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officially published proposed changes to the public charge rule. The changes would deny entry to individuals seeking admission to the United States or adjusting their immigration status to become a permanent resident if there is any likelihood that the individual will become a public charge at any time in the future. Public comments are due by Dec. 10. 

LeadingAge will host a call with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to discuss resources for current and new Adult Day Services providers, specifically how to begin working with Veterans Affairs and how to resolve ongoing concerns. The call takes place Nov. 5 from 1 – 2 p.m.