News

The Senate Appropriations Committee approved $44.5 billion for HUD in fiscal year 2019, including $678 million for the Section 202 Housing for the Elderly account and $11.7 billion for Project-Based Rental Assistance that provides the operating subsidy for approximately two-thirds of Section 202 homes. 

Chapter 4 of the RAI Manual is one of the least read and more important for quality outcomes. The in-depth discussion of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) expectations for care planning in care centers contains excellent training and examples of how to conduct a thorough assessment to correct a care plan problem. 

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) sent LeadingAge Minnesota the following question-and-answer guidance from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) concerning F700 and the use of bed rails. 

To signal the importance of on-site RN coverage in care centers, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has added an icon to the Nursing Home Compare ratings of facilities that reported 7 or more days in a quarter with no RN hours through the Payroll Based Journal system.  

Medicare is removing Social Security numbers from Medicare cards to prevent fraud, fight identity theft and keep taxpayer dollars safe. Medicare will mail new cards to Minnesotans on Medicare sometime after June 2018 and before April 30, 2019. The following information from the Minnesota Department of Human Services can help you respond to questions you may receive from residents.  

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is considering rulemaking to address the standard for determining joint-employer status under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The joint-employer standard comes into play when two or more businesses share control and responsibility over certain employees. It is most often seen in the context of franchise operations, subcontracting arrangements and, in the case of LeadingAge Minnesota members, use of contract workers. 

A new proposal in Congress could create a new long-term services and support insurance product within the Medicare program. LeadingAge has been invited to submit comments on this draft legislation and is seeking feedback from members. 

Affordable housing programs received a bit of good news last week when the U.S. House Appropriations Committee provided $941 million more for the U.S. House & Urban Development Department (HUD) in fiscal year 2019 (FY19) than last fiscal year. 

In the May 9 Advantage, it was announced that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has discontinued use of the five Skilled Nursing Facility denial form letters and the notice of exclusion from Medicare Benefits (NEMB-SNF), Form CMS-20014, and condensed all this information into a new one-page form. 

In this week’s update on the proposed Skilled Nursing Facility Prospective Payment System (PPS) rule, we provide more information on payment changes. 

Employers must make the hepatitis B vaccination available to staff who have reasonably anticipated contact with blood or other potentially infectious materials during performance of their jobs. 

The U.S. Housing & Urban Development Department (HUD) is circulating a proposal to change how residents’ rents are calculated in all HUD-assisted housing programs. 

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Skilled Nursing Facility Advance Beneficiary Notice of Non-Coverage (SNFABN) (CMS-10055) was mandatory for use by all skilled nursing facilities as of Monday, May 7. The form and instructions are available on the CMS website.  

The National Fire Protection Association has issued a Tentative Interim Amendment (TIA 12-8) concerning the storage and use of liquid oxygen. CMS has not taken any formal action in response, but we expect them to review the issue in the near future. 

Adult Day Services are an integral part of the long-term care continuum, but a potential move by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) could put up a barrier in advancing the use of these valued community-services. 

In a call with LeadingAge last week, we received key updates on affordable housing funding from their advocacy on Capitol Hill: 

New legislation introduced in Congress would help aging services providers alleviate its growing workforce crisis:    

You don’t have to have the intent to discriminate to run afoul of fair housing laws. In fact, most fair housing claims are filed against people who have very good intention. It is important to regularly train staff and volunteers in the principles and regulations of fair housing.   

A recent report on Medicaid assisted living services by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) calls on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to improve how it collects, reports, manages and monitors information about Medicaid assisted living services. 

Nursing facility staffing measures posted on Nursing Home Compare and facility staffing ratings calculated for the Five Star Quality Rating System will reflect Payroll Based Journal (PBJ) data beginning this month, along with a new risk adjustment methodology, according to a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) memorandum released April 6.