RIPPED FROM THE HEADLINES

Current Direction of Public Policy Could Lead to More Nursing Home Closures, Payment Shortfalls, Providers Tell Senators

The current state of public policy for nursing homes could result in additional closures and continued shortfalls in Medicaid payments, providers warned in a lengthy letter to lawmakers.

LeadingAge disclosed on Thursday that it recently submitted a letter addressing nursing home policies to the Senate Finance Committee Chair Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) and ranking member Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR). Grassley is reportedly preparing to unveil legislation on nursing home oversight before the end of the year.

“We have reached a confluence of public policies that threatens the survival of these important providers, truly the ‘safety net’ for people who need long-term care,” Katie Smith Sloan, LeadingAge president and CEO, said in the letter. “A radical change in direction is essential if nursing homes are to be able to carry out their mission of competent and compassionate care for a rapidly aging population.”

The organization called on the federal government to use a “collaborative, learning-oriented approach to oversight between regulatory agencies and providers.” Read More...

Source: Danielle Brown /McKnight Long-Term Care News

Bipartisan Legislation Would Set Aside Sadowski Funds Only for Affordable Housing

A bipartisan group of lawmakers called Monday for the Legislature to preserve affordable housing trust fund dollars for that purpose.

Legislation (SB 306/HB 381) filed earlier this year would prevent the Legislature from pooling unspent local government and state housing dollars for use elsewhere in the budget without a deliberate re-appropriation. Both bills are backed by members of both parties, some of whom appeared at the press conference hosted by Jaimie Ross, facilitator of the Sadowski Coalition.

“The importance of safe housing that’s affordable is not controversial or partisan. It’s an issue that unites us,” said Ross, who is also the president and CEO of the Florida Housing Coalition.

She added that using the housing trust fund dollars for its initial purpose would create 30,000 jobs and generate $4.4 billion in the economy.

Sadowski funds are supposed to be used for housing projects, though they are often directed toward other projects. Over the past decade, lawmakers have swept more than $2 billion from the state’s affordable housing trust fund into general revenue.
Read More...

Source: Renzo Downey / FALPOL

House Budget Chief says an Affordable Housing Fund Sweep is Likely in House Budget Plan

Despite a plea to fully fund affordable housing programs in the new state budget, the House’s top budget leader says his chamber is likely to look again at shifting some of the housing money to other spending priorities in the 2020-21 budget.

“If I was to predict, I would say that we’re going to take a hard look at that. We were pleased last year that the sweep was not maybe as much as it had been in the past, which I think is a victory for affordable workforce housing, which the need is great through the state,” House Appropriations Chairman Travis Cummings told reporters after his budget committee met on Tuesday.

Cummings, a Clay County Republican, said for the House to advance a “responsible” budget, “we’ll probably take a hard and serious look at sweeping at some level.” He cited other pressing needs in the new budget including a troubled prison system, education initiatives, and health-care programs.

In the current budget, lawmakers approved $200 million for the affordable housing programs, but shifted another $125 million in housing funds to other areas of the budget, despite support from Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Senate to fully fund the programs. Read More...

Source: Lloyd Dunkelberger / Florida Phoenix

LeadingAge

New CMS Rule Could Affect Tax Exemptions for Life Plan Communities

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed regulation in November 2019 that seeks to change the types of provider taxes states can levy and still receive federal Medicaid funds. The proposed rule may disallow state tax exemptions that currently allow life plan communities to save significant money.

The new rule is part of a broader effort by CMS to limit federal spending via state provider taxes, supplemental payments, and other items as part of the Medicaid Fiscal Accountability Regulation (MFAR).

Previously, LeadingAge posted an analysis of the proposed rule and a full side-by-side comparison of the rule to current policy. This article focuses on the rule’s potential impact on life plan communities. Read More...

Source: LeadingAge

LEADINGAGE Action Alert

Senators Introduce Companion Bill to Address CNA Lockout Issue for Nursing Home Members

Momentum continues to grow in our grassroots efforts to provide regulatory relief that will allow for better care for residents in nursing homes. Thanks to your efforts, we have seen support increase for H.R. 4468 in the U.S. House, and the introduction of S. 2993 in the Senate.

Take action today and tell your U.S. Representative and Senators to cosponsor H.R. 4468/S. 2993.

We also encourage you to share this action alert with your residents and network!

More on the issue:
Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) introduced bipartisan legislation (S. 2993) in the Senate that will end the mandatory 2-year CNA lockout for nursing homes if they have been fined over a certain threshold amount. This legislation will provide relief and help to ensure that our members can provide quality care for residents.

H.R. 4468 and S. 2993 allow nursing homes to regain their nursing assistant training authority when all deficiencies have been corrected and authorize CMS to monitor homes as necessary. S. 2993 has additional limits on which homes can regain their training program and allows nursing homes to have access to the National Practitioner Data Bank to improve background checks. Both bills are important to facilitate quality improvement in our national’s nursing homes.

We are now down to the wire as we work to get this bill passed by the end of the year. Send a message and encourage your elected members of Congress to show their support by cosponsoring the bill.  

Source: LeadingAge

ADVOCACY

Implementation Time for HB 1033!
Major CCRC Regulatory Changes Take Effect January 1, 2020 - Are You Ready?

Join this Webinar on December 18 at 2:00 pm

There are many questions about the major changes to the continuing care contract law passed in HB 1033 and the proposed rules developed by the Office of Insurance Regulation to implement the new law. As a service to our members, we have scheduled a webinar on Wednesday, December 18 from 2:00-3:00 pm ET to review the self-implementing provisions in HB 1033 that take effect January 1, 2020, as well as major changes to Rule 69O-193, FAC.

If you have questions you would like to have addressed, please submit them to Mary Ellen Early (meearly@earthlink.net) prior to the webinar. The last portion of the webinar will be dedicated to questions and answers.

There is no charge for LeadingAge Florida members participating in this webinar.

Speakers:

Joel L. Anderson, Chief Executive Officer, Village On The Isle; and Chair, LeadingAge Florida
Scot E. Aurelius, Shareholder, MSL CPAs & Advisors
Sue Bunevich, CLA
Mary Ellen Early, Public Policy Liaison, LeadingAge Florida
Lynn Gordon, Director of Regulatory Affairs, Erickson Living Management, LLC
Garry Hennis, Chief Operating Officer, Westminster Communities of Florida
Richard J. Scanlon, Managing Director, Ziegler

OIR Creates New Phone Number and Email Address for Ch. 651 Complaints

The Office of Insurance Regulation has created a new phone number and email address specifically for reports of potential violations of Chapter 651, Florida Statutes. Both will be activated on January 1, 2020. The new phone number is (850) 413-3153. The new email address is CCRCTeam@floir.com.

Click here for a template of the notice for inquiries and complaints that must be posted in the community by January 1.

As background, a new section, 651.091(2)(c), F.S., was passed in HB 1033 that requires each continuing care/life plan community to post in a prominent place accessible to all residents and the public, a notice containing contact information for the OIR and the Division of Consumer Services. The notice must state that either the OIR or the Division may be contacted for the submission of inquiries and complaints about potential violations of Chapter 651 committed by a provider.

By: Mary Ellen Early, Public Policy Liaison and Susan Langston, LeadingAge Florida Vice President of Advocacy

Expanded Role for Nurses Gets House Support

A House panel on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved a priority bill of House Speaker Jose Oliva that would allow advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants to practice independently from physicians.

Bill sponsor Cary Pigman, R-Avon Park, said the proposal (HB 607) would go a long way toward improving patients’ access to primary-care providers, especially in medically underserved areas of the state.

“It’s the very basic primary health care that I value the greatest,” said Pigman, an emergency medicine physician. “I mean, as much as I love our medical specialists ... I think it’s the basic care for folks with high blood pressure and folks with diabetes, the basic care of those people, which results in the greatest benefit to our society, from disease reduction, injury reduction, saving limbs, avoiding the need for those expensive interventionalists later on.”

The Legislature in recent years has expanded the “scope” of practice for advanced practice registered nurses. In 2016, lawmakers authorized advanced practice registered nurses to prescribe controlled substances. But the law maintained the requirement that the nurses have supervisory relationships with physicians.

Pigman’s bill, filed for the upcoming 2020 legislative session, would build on that and allow certain advanced practice registered nurses to practice without written agreements with supervisory physicians. Read More...

Source: Christine Sexton / News Service of Florida

Advocacy In Action: Legislative Days | January 28 - 30 | Register Today!

Click the play button to view the video - your personal invitation to attend our Legislative Days: Advocacy in Action. President/CEO Steve Bahmer, Board Chair Joel Anderson, Chair-Elect Bruce Jones, and At-Large Trustee Scott Cairns share their reasons why your attendance is so crucial.

Legislators need to hear from you so services and programs for senior Floridians are treated fairly. As a provider, your credibility makes you the perfect expert advocate for your community and the elders you serve. Your attendance is needed to make LeadingAge Florida’s unified voice heard loud and clear.

REGULATORY

Avoiding F842

These week’s deficiencies are from F842 - safeguard resident-identifiable information and/or maintain medical records on each resident that are in accordance with accepted professional standards. Suggestions for avoiding this deficiency include:

1. Document all interventions you complete for a resident’s discharge. Surveyors cited for failure to document the interventions even though the staff carried out discharge plans.

2. Ensure all CNA ADL documentation is completed. Surveyors can cite just for blanks even though there is no negative resident outcome. A system needs to be in place to check documentation on an ongoing basis, not just at the end of the month.

3. A resident’s past history needs to reviewed when completing assessments. It is important to review the hospital’s H & P and hospital discharge records assessing for previous falls, etc.

4. A system should also be put in place to ensure that all medications are documented. This system could be an electronic alert system or a manual review but should be completed on an ongoing basis.

Connie Cheren, RN, MSW, LeadingAge Florida's Clinical and Compliance Specialist, can be reached via email or phone at (678) 778-0561 to help answer questions before, during and after your surveys. As a value-added service provided by LeadingAge Florida, Connie can help nursing home and assisted living facility members improve regulatory compliance and clinical outcomes, in addition to offering suggestions about corrective plans of action to improve your surveys.

NURSING HOME ISSUES

Proposed Rule - Prospective Payment System

Last Friday, the Agency for Health Care Administration held a Public Hearing on the Proposed Rule related to the Payment Methodology for Nursing Home Services (PPS). The purpose of this rule hearing was to codify the statute into rule for the agency. Martin Goetz, CEO of River Garden Hebrew Home, presented comments expressing River Garden’s objections and concerns regarding the PPS and offering a less costly provider solution to the current payment system. Tyler Sununu testified on behalf of LeadingAge Florida, also expressing concerns about the inherent flaws of the prospective payment system.

LeadingAge Florida followed up by submitting written comments to the proposed rule. We understand that substantive changes to the current system must be made through the legislative process. However, this was a good opportunity to highlight the deficiencies of this system in a public forum. We thank Mr. Goetz for traveling from Jacksonville to give his testimony.

LeadingAge Florida will continue to educate our policy makers and the public on this important issue, and seek modifications to the current reimbursement structure.

USP 800

On December 1st USP 800 went into effect. It is designed to educate and enforce the safe handling of hazardous drugs to protect healthcare workers and patients. These standards will be enforced by the board of pharmacy. The FDA, OSHA and Joint Commission may also enforce these standards. According to LeadingAge National, CMS has not released any new regulations or surveyor guidance related to these guidelines. There is a lot to the USP 800. If you are unsure if you are currently in compliance, I suggest first checking with your pharmacy consultant. I also urge you to reach out to me and I will be happy to help you with your specific questions. Below I have linked a webinar from LeadingAge National and a link to frequently asked questions about the USP 800.

TECHNOLOGY

Skilled Nursing Data Breach with $14M Ransom Illustrates Industry’s Cybersecurity Problems

More than 100 nursing homes were left vulnerable, without entry to patient medical records, after their data provider experienced a breach — an example of a threat that could become more widespread in an industry not known for technological advancement.

Virtual Care Provider Inc. (VCPI) last month was hit with a ransomware attack, a kind of breach in which malicious users take complete control of data and demand a significant amount of money to set it free again. In this case, the hackers requested $14 million, according to Krebs on Security, a data industry publication that first reported the breach.

This cyberattack resulted in a complete freeze on day-to-day functions, including electronic billing, medication ordering, payroll, internet, e-mail, phones, and more, chief executive officer Karen Christianson told Krebs on Security. Read More...

Source: Lyndee Yamshon / Skilled Nursing News

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

Oak Hammock Celebrates Anniversary

Fifteen years ago, university researchers uncovered the benefits of aging in a community and decided to partner with the University of Florida to build a Life Plan Community.

President/CEO, Steve Bahmer, was at Oak Hammock at the University of Florida yesterday with Oak Hammock President/CEO Jeff Hagen, Gainesville Mayor Lauren Poe, University of Florida President W. Kent Fuchs, and other dignitaries to celebrate Oak Hammock's 15th anniversary.

"The foundation you have built in these first 15 years – on rewarding curiosity, expression, and lifelong learning, on promoting total wellness, and on meeting the growing demand for increased connectedness – is precisely the foundation that will be necessary to serve Florida’s growing senior population into the next 15 years and beyond, said Bahmer."

"I am proud to lead the association that has Oak Hammock as a member. And I am proud to be here today to celebrate with you your first 15 years, and to look forward to the next 15 years of excellent service to Florida’s seniors."

Retirement Center Cuts Ribbon on New Residential Building

Good Samaritan Society-Florida Lutheran has officially opened a new housing facility that replaces one licensed for half as many beds. Although the first residents moved in during July, a dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new assisted living facility was held Nov. 7.

The community, known for years as the Florida Lutheran Retirement Center, started construction of the new, $11.7 million housing facility in summer 2016.

“We went through some delays due to hurricanes,” Administrator Jessica Toth said.

The new building is licensed for 90 beds; the facility is currently set up with 48 assisted living apartments in several floor plans, including studio apartments and one- and two-bedroom models, and 32 private rooms in the Memory Care assisted living unit. It replaces an assisted living facility being torn down that was licensed for 45 beds, Toth said.

Good Samaritan Society-Florida Lutheran offers a variety of services, including chef-prepared meals, housekeeping and transportation services, a professionally managed fitness center for wellness programs and therapy services, enrichment and social activities, and support from well-trained staff.

The campus is at 450 N. McDonald Ave. in DeLand. For more information, call 386-738-0212 or go to www.good-sam.com.

Source: Joe Crews/ The West Volusia Beacon

Abbey Delray South Employee Receive Keys to New Home from Habitat for Humanity of South Palm Beach County

Ilomane Brivaus, a housekeeper at Abbey Delray South, received keys to a new home in late November. Her daughter Jesse will live with her, and they plan to transform their yard into a garden full of parsley, green onions and avocados. Read More...

Source: Delray News

Welcome to Silver Business Partner RehabCare!
Thank you For Your Extraordinary Commitment to Our Members

RehabCare is a leader and premier provider of physical, occupational and speech-language rehabilitation services with providers in 47 states. As a part of Kindred Healthcare, RehabCare provides contract therapy services across multiple settings including skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), assisted living facilities (ALFs), independent living facilities (ILFs), continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs) and outpatient facilities.

RehabCare is much more than just rehab therapy.

They’re partners in every sense of the word. Experience matters in the successful partnerships they forge with provider clients. RehabCare leverages over 30 years of managing rehab care and wellness so their provider partners can compete, grow and weather any compliance or regulatory storm.

Jen Humphrey, Marketing Coordinator
RehabCare
680 S 4th St, Louisville KY 40202
Ph: 502.596.7640
jen.humphrey@rehabcare.com

Welcome to Silver Business Partner McGriff Insurance Services!
Thank you For Your Extraordinary Commitment to Our Members

McGriff Insurance Services is the 5th largest insurance brokerage in the world and a subsidiary of Truist Financial Corp (formerly BB&T and SunTrust). McGriff - Senior Living is a specialized practice group within the firm that has exclusively served senior care organizations since 1991. Client focused and results driven, our dedicated Senior Living team is comprised of individuals and resources that provide insurance brokerage, risk management consultation, alternative risk financing, clinical support, legal expertise, claims advocacy, training and analytics to more than 350 senior care organizations around the country.

J.D. Swanson
McGriff Insurance Services – Senior Living Practice
A BB&T Company
850 Concourse Parkway South, Suite 200, Maitland, FL 32751
Ph: 407.691.9562 Mobile: 407.489.4021
JDSwanson@McGriffInsurance.com

VALUE FIRST

Value First is proud to announce our continued success nationally in winning cost study reports using our two vendor partners, US Foods and Sysco.

Value First and our national partner Vizient are ready to provide you a free cost study. All that is required is one month of data and you are under no obligation to commit.

• The cost study will provide you a comparative analysis and contract utilization
• Visibility to line-item prices and rebate value
• Access to propriety procurement services
• A product attribute tool to aid in decision making

Please take a advantage of this. It only takes a few minutes of your time, and we do all the leg work.

Let’s end the year strong with a food cost study!!!!

Please contact me, Bobby Bernal, at (850) 509-8112 or email me at rbernal@leadingageflorida.org or Rbernal@valuefirstonline.com

I will walk you through the few easy steps.

Please click here for the NEW Updated Dec 2019 Value First Contracted catalog.

Thank you again. All the best, and see you on the road!

Robert "Bobby" Bernal, Value First Regional Southeast Manager

C: (850) 509-8112 | Email

COMING ATTRACTIONS

DECEMBER

Implementation Time for HB 1033 Webinar
12/18/2019 @ 2:00 PM ET
There are many questions about the major changes to the continuing care contract law passed in HB 1033 and rule changes promulgated by the Office of Insurance Regulation to implement the new law. As a service to our members, we have scheduled a webinar on Wednesday, December 18 from 2:00-3:00 pm ET to review the self-implementing provisions in HB 1033 that take effect January 1, 2020 as well as major changes to Rule 69O-193, FAC.

There is no charge for LeadingAge Florida members participating in this webinar. Please go through the registration process so we are able to email you the webinar information.

JANUARY

Fundamentals of Pain Management Webinar
1/9/2020 @ 11:00 AM ET
This webinar will review the development of a pain management program, including identification and treatment of a resident’s pain and evaluating the effectiveness of interventions.

Survey Trends Conference Call
1/10/2020 @ 10:30 AM ET
LeadingAge Florida members have been experiencing issues with increased scrutiny in the CMS nursing home survey process. To help our members prepare and deal with the new survey process, LeadingAge Florida hosts this conference call to provide you with critical information on survey changes.

There is no charge for LeadingAge Florida community members participating on this call. Please go through the registration process so we are able to email you the webinar information.

Legislative Days: Advocacy in Action
January 28 - 30, 2020
Doubletree by Hilton | Tallahassee, FL

There is no charge for LeadingAge Florida community members participating at this event. Please go through the registration process so we are able to email you the webinar information.

FEBRUARY

Freedom from Abuse Webinar
2/19/2020 @ 2:00 PM ET
This webinar will apply the principles of the abuse regulation to all aspects of care being provided.