Monday, June 22, 2015

Veterans Access to Quality Care Advocacy Awards

Last week, three members of Congress were recognized at AHCA’s Congressional Briefing for their outstanding leadership and work on the VA provider agreement issue.  Pictured from left to right are Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Senator John Hoeven and Rep. Jackie Walorski.  Plaques are also being given to Senate VA Committee Chairman Johnny Isakson, Senate VA Committee Ranking Member Richard Blumenthal, Senator Jerry Moran, Senator Joe Manchin, Senator Tom Carper and House VA Committee Chairman Jeff Miller for their tremendous and ongoing efforts on this issue. 

As you know, AHCA has been working with the Hill and the Department of Veterans Affairs for the past several years to try to ensure that those who courageously served our country have access to extended care services through VA provider agreements. Providers currently face burdensome regulatory challenges when administering care to thousands of veterans due to onerous regulations surrounding federal contractor status. It is long-standing policy that Medicare and Medicaid providers are not considered federal contractors. However, providers that serve VA patients under a VA contract are considered federal contractors. 

Living the Mission: A Day for Not for Profit (NFP) Providers

The third annual day for NFP providers will be held during AHCA/NCAL's 66th Annual Convention & Expo in San Antonio, Texas on Tuesday, October 6. This constituency education program for NFP providers is packed with motivational and educational speakers, including CMS and HUD. Lee Ellis, President and founder of Leadership Freedom® LLC, is our keynote speaker and is a popular media personality and high-profile human performance expert. Lee focuses on organizational integrity, operational effectiveness and personal accountability for enterprise, government and NFP leaders. A prolific writer, blogger and thought leader, Lee's latest award-winning book, Leading with Honor: Leadership Lessons from the Hanoi Hilton, shares his POW experience and the 14 leadership principles that helped him and his compatriots resist, survive, and return with honor. Attendees will also have the opportunity to attend the NFP reception, which will cap the day off.

For a complete list of education sessions included in this program go to our Education Session Full Schedule.  If you have any questions about this exciting event, please contact AHCA's Senior Director for NFP & Constituent Services, Dana Halvorson, at dhalvorson@ahca.org.

NFP Grassroots Advocacy

Steven Chies, AHCA’s NFP Council Chair, encourages AHCA’s NFP providers to participate in our grassroots advocacy efforts in 2015.  AHCA would like to help you get facility tours and in-district meetings set up over future recess days.  Please provide your name, facility address, and email address and we will craft the invite and send it to you to send to the Congressional office.  The four brief steps for a successful facility tour visit can be found here.  Please feel free to contact Matthew Smyth and Dana Halvorson who can help you with all of the logistics.




AHCA’s NFP Council member, Van Moore (pictured to the right), meets with Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR-2, pictured on the left) at the Oregon Veterans’ Home in The Dalles.  Van discussed with the Congressman issues impacting AHCA/NCAL members, including the observation stays issue.

NFPs Engaging in the Political Process

For more information on how NFPs can engage in the political process, please review this webinar and handout from Wiley Rein, LLP.  Both documents will give members of 501(c) 3 tax exempt organizations an overview of what they can and cannot do in regards to lobbying and political activity.  For issue briefs, talking points and more, visit AHCA’s advocacy page.

U.S. Congressional Calendars

As you are planning your visits with members of Congress and their staff in Washington, D.C., or in your district, the Congressional calendars will be of assistance to you. The U.S. House of Representatives calendar for the 114th Congress, first session, can be found here. The U.S. Senate schedule for the new Congress can be found here. The dates in black reference the times the U.S. Senate is in session.  The red dates represent when the U.S. Senate is in recess.  

AHCA/NCAL Advocacy App

If you haven’t already heard about it, then we wanted to alert you to a great app that allows you to keep abreast of AHCA advocacy efforts.  Among other things, it provides important talking points, issue briefs and features that allow you to take action.  It will be useful not only to you, but serves as a great way for providers to weigh in.  You can get the app by clicking on the appropriate black box below.

 

Download our advocacy app!
   

AHCA’s State of the States Clearinghouse

AHCA members have access to key Medicaid and Medicare information through the State of the States Clearinghouse.  The AHCA State of the States Clearinghouse is a one stop shop for key Medicaid and Medicare information impacting the long term care profession.   

This new resource provides valuable data, including:


·         Overview of the demographic landscape;
·         State-specific nursing center occupancy and ownership breakouts; 
·         Certificate of Need requirements for nursing centers and state licensure requirements; 
·         State data on the cost of care for long term services and supports;  
·         State data on the total number of Medicare enrollees; 
·         Data on state Medicare Advantage plan enrollees and comparisons to the national average; 
·         State and national Medicaid expenditure data;
·         State Medicaid rates, costs and shortfalls;
·         And other significant state-specific data related to payment structure, managed long term services and home and community based services coverage.

AHCA will continue to provide the most up-to-date information through the Clearinghouse and share new data/resources as they become available.  Also be sure to visit the AHCA Medicaid Page to learn more about the program and to access additional AHCA members-only Medicaid resources.

We’ve Got You Covered! AHCA/NCAL Insurance Solutions Website

The American Health Care Association (AHCA) and National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL) now offers a variety of comprehensive insurance programs to meet your business needs. Backed by the strength of our membership, AHCA/NCAL Insurance Solutions programs are designed with exclusive member savings and discounts for both the fully-insured or self-insured members.

The program offers health insurance options, group and voluntary benefit packages, an aggressive Stop-Loss insurance program as well as cloud based HR platforms that will help members achieve savings and greater efficiencies on HR services within your company, while also tracking and reporting on key Affordable Care Act (ACA) requirements.  For more information, please contact AHCA’s Dave Kyllo at dkyllo@AHCA.org and visit the
AHCA/NCAL Insurance Solutions website.  

Articles and Resources of Interest

Legislative and Agency Corner

Webinars of Interest

Stay informed and tune in to AHCA/NCAL-hosted pre-recorded and live webinars on a number of topics impacting the long term care profession.  On June 26, at 1pm ET, AHCA will be holding a webinar entitled, Just Say “No” to Drugs and “Yes” to Successful Behavior Management.  You can register for this webinar here.    

In addition, on June 25, from 3-4pm ET, The National Alzheimer’s and Dementia Resource Center will hold a webinar entitled, Update on the National Alzheimer’s Project Act – NAPA.  You can register for it here.  This webinar will provide participants with an update on NAPA. In particular, NAPA will be discussed as it relates to care and services for people with dementia and their caregivers and how updates to NAPA influence practice.
 

Shore Lodge

According to Dr. Bryan K. Williams, “There is something to be said for ‘owning’ your work and being exceptional, regardless of who you are serving. Some people…the special ones…are always looking for ways to show their heart through taking care of others.”  To read the full blog posting, please click here. 

Dr. Williams is a consultant, trainer, and author, who focuses on the areas of service excellence and organizational effectiveness.  He has spoken at numerous AHCA/NCAL events, and his passion is to serve others so they may better serve the world.  Here is a link where you can see some of Dr. Williams’ book recommendations on service, leadership and personal development.

National Association of States United for Aging and Disabilities

The National Association of Sates United for Aging and Disabilities (NASUAD) holds monthly calls concerning topics of interest to those who work in the field of aging and disability the first Thursday of every month at 3pm EST.  One of the past calls focused on resources for people with Alzheimer’s and related dementias and their caregivers.  Information about future calls, and audio recording of previous ones, can be found here.

Upcoming 2015 Events

2015 Health Care Observances

The 2015 AHCA/NCAL Health Care Observances Calendar can be found here.  July marks, among other observances, Eye Injury Prevention Month and UV Safety Month.