Pictured from left to right are Congressman Greg Walden (R- OR-2nd District) and individuals associated with the Oregon SVHs of Cheryl Maitland and Van Moore.
Thursday, February 16, 2017
AHCA’s State Veterans Home Members Storm the Hill
Pictured from left to right are Congressman Greg Walden (R- OR-2nd District) and individuals associated with the Oregon SVHs of Cheryl Maitland and Van Moore.
AHCA/NCAL Congratulates Secretary Price
“We look forward to the opportunity to work with Secretary Price. His health care expertise and emphasis on patient-centered care will help us build upon our ongoing efforts to provide quality long term and post-acute care to the elderly and individuals with disabilities.”
Part B Therapy Cap Repeal Bill Introduced
As you may recall, the Part B therapy caps were established as part of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA), and established per-beneficiary limits on outpatient therapy coverage. In 2017, the cap limits are $1,980 for physical therapy (PT) and speech-language pathology (SLP) combined, and a separate $1,980 cap for occupational therapy (OT). However, per provisions of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) of 2015, outpatient therapy providers can furnish services above these amounts if the provider attests that the services are medically necessary under an exceptions process. The MACRA provisions also requires the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to conduct limited targeted manual medical review on services above a $3,700 per-beneficiary threshold for PT/SLP combined, and OT.
The MACRA provisions are due to expire on December 31, 2017, and without Congressional action, Medicare beneficiaries will no longer be able to receive covered services above the annual cap limits. AHCA is grateful for the efforts of the members of the House and Senate that have reintroduced and are co-sponsoring this legislation that seeks to assure that over 1 million beneficiaries, including residents of SNFs and Assisted Living Centers, continue to have access to necessary outpatient PT, OT, and SLP services.
If you have questions, please contact Dan Ciolek, AHCA’s Associate Vice President, Therapy Advocacy.
ACA Replacement Could Take a Year
AHCA/NCAL Independent Owners Conference and Quality Summit Coming Up Soon!
The
2017 AHCA/NCAL
Independent Owners Conference will be held March 8 – 10 at the Hilton
Orlando Lake Buena Vista at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. Join your senior level colleagues to meet and
discuss the latest issues that matter to you.
This year’s conference focuses on Surviving and Thriving as an
Independent Owner. You’ll learn
innovative strategies and ideas to help you with the challenges of managing
staff and patients, and explore different approaches for dealing with new laws
and regulation. Discover the best practices in change management and get
inspired to raise the quality of care you provide.
The AHCA/NCAL Quality Summit will be held before at the same hotel March 6-8. Discount tickets to the Walt Disney World resorts are also available. Be sure to register today for these important events!
The AHCA/NCAL Quality Summit will be held before at the same hotel March 6-8. Discount tickets to the Walt Disney World resorts are also available. Be sure to register today for these important events!
Mark Your Calendars – AHCA’s 2017 ID/DD Hill Fly-In Event Right Around the Corner!
If you would like to attend, please contact AHCA’s Senior Director of Not for Profit & Constituent Services, Dana Halvorson. If you have any questions whatsoever, please don’t hesitate to let Dana know. AHCA hopes to see you at this important event!
NFP Grassroots Advocacy – Facility Visits over Recess
NFPs Engaging in the Political Process
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 115th Congress, first session,
can be found here.
The tentative U.S. Senate schedule for 2017 can be found here.
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
This 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.
We’ve Got You Covered! AHCA/NCAL Insurance Solutions Website
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
-
The National Quality Forum Endorses Long Stay Hospitalization Measure – ahcancal.org
- Meditation and Music Improve Memory and Cognitive Function in Adults with Subjective Cognitive Decline: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial – content.iospress.com
- Common viruses a deadly threat at nursing homes – upi.com
- Cold-Weather Foot Care Key for Diabetics – medicinenet.com
- High Blood Pressure May Not Be All Bad in the Elderly: Study – consumer.healthday.com
- Health Tip: Make Sleep a Priority – consumer.healthday.com
- Why Winter Weather Brings More Flu – consumer.healthday.com
- Medical Groups Raise Blood Pressure Rx Threshold for Healthy Adults Over 60 – consumerhealthyday.com
- Hospital-Related Delirium May Help Worsen Dementia – consumer.healthday.com
- Health Tip: Get Moving Toward a Healthier You – consumer.healthday.com
- Working Out? Don't Bring Your Cellphone – consumer.healthday.com
- Protecting Ankles, Feet From Winter's Assaults – consumer.healthday.com
- Glossary of Medicaid Terms Related to Public Health – astho.org
Legislative and Agency Corner
-
Federal Court Orders CMS to Fix “Maintenance Coverage” Policy Education Due to Noncompliance with Jimmo v. Burwell Settlement – longtermcareleader.com
- Energy and Commerce Committee Begins Work on Medicaid – longtermcareleader.com
- HUD Launches $15 million test of enhanced supportive services – mcknightsseniorliving.com
- Beware of Health Scams – nia.nih.gov
- Online Health Information: Can You Trust It? – nia.nih.gov
- Hypothermia: A Cold Weather Hazard – nia.nih.gov
- Quality of End-of-Life Care Provided to Patients With Different Serious Illnesses. – ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Prevention and Public Health Fund – cdc.gov
AHCA/NCAL Learning Management Website
"We created ahcancalED for our members who do not have the time or budget to develop the newest in-service training," said Dr. David Gifford, AHCA/NCAL Senior Vice President of Quality and Regulatory Affairs. "Our objective also was to provide the best and latest educational tools, especially as CMS increases its regulatory requirements about staff training and competency in a number of areas. ahcancalED is designed to help individuals in our profession do a better job of caring for patients and residents and advance in their careers."
The information on ahcancalED is structured to make the online learning experience engaging, meaningful, and interactive for users. The fresh graphics and clearly defined sections within the site make it easy for users to navigate and find the information they need. The site also allows users to track their own learning progress.
Teams of experts from around the country working with AHCA/NCAL staff helped to create the content. "We will constantly be adding new programs and materials so that we can keep the site fresh and dynamic," said Gifford. "We'll continue to look for new ways the site can grow and serve our members. It's a great value-added benefit and a tangible example of our commitment to enhancing quality."
ahcancalED can be accessed at https://educate.ahcancal.org/. Suggestions for content or other site enhancements can
be submitted to the ahcancalED team at educate@ahca.org. AHCA/NCAL welcomes ideas that will help improve quality
and strengthen the knowledge, skills and attitudes of staff in the long term
and post-acute care community.
From the Blog of Josh Linkner
The LOVE Business
| 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 States
United for Aging and Disabilities (NASUAD) holds a monthly call or webinar
concerning topics of interest to those who work in the field of aging and
disability. 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 2017 Events
-
AHCA/NCAL 2017 Quality Summit – March 6 – 8, 2017
- AHCA/NCAL 2017 Independent Owner Leadership Conference – March 8 – 10, 2017
- AHCA ID/DD Committee In-Person Meeting and Hill Fly-In Event – March 21 and 22, 2017
2017 Health Care Observances
March 2017 marks,
among other observances, Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, National
Nutrition Month,
National Developmental Disabilities
Awareness Month,
Brain Injury Awareness Month, and Save Your Vision Month. The full 2017 health care related observances
calendar can be found here.
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