AHCA/NCAL Responds to House Republican Legislation to Repeal and Replace Obamacare

On March 7, 2017, the American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) President and CEO Mark Parkinson today issued the following statement regarding the Obamacare repeal and replace bill released on Monday, March 6:

“Long term care providers across the country are disappointed that cuts to Medicaid are included in the Obamacare repeal and replace bill released yesterday. The current Medicaid system underfunds nursing center care by $22.46 per day, resulting in a shortfall of nearly $7 billion annually. The bill released yesterday will sharply reduce Medicaid funds across the board for all beneficiaries, making it harder than ever to maintain access to care for the most vulnerable in our society.

“The residents in long term care centers are uniquely vulnerable. More than one million individuals call nursing centers their home and most rely on Medicaid for their care. This bill will cut Medicaid funding for seniors and individuals with disabilities, jeopardizing access to the care they need.

“We strongly encourage Congress to protect Medicaid access for seniors and people with disabilities in the Obamacare repeal and replace effort.”

AHCA/NCAL Congratulates Administrator Verma

The American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) President and CEO Mark Parkinson issued the following statement on March 13 regarding confirmation of Seema Verma as Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) at the Department of Health and Human Services:

“We congratulate Ms. Verma and look forward to the opportunity to work with her and the team at CMS. Her experience and health care policy knowledge will serve the country well as we continue on the journey to provide quality care for millions of patients and residents.”

Emergency Preparedness CMS Final Rule Summaries and Webinar Series Available

The California Association of Health Facilities and the American Health Care Association have put together a Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) and Intermediate Care Facility for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (ICF/IID) Emergency Preparedness CMS Final Rule summaries that can be found here.  The rule was released on Friday, September 16, 2016, and can be found here.  Providers will need to comply by November 2017.  Members impacted by the rule include SNFs, Nursing Facilities and ICF/IIDs.  This final rule is not applicable to Assisted Living Providers.Finally, the AHCA Emergency Preparedness Final Rule Webinar Series that you might find of assistance can be found here

AHCA’s ID/DD Members Storm the Hill this Week

This Wednesday, AHCA’s Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (ID/DD) Residential Services Providers will be in Washington DC for AHCA’s annual Hill Fly-In event.  Participants will hear from several Congressional speakers, including current and former Hill staffers and members of Congress.  The morning will start off with a Hill update from Congressman Dwight Evans (D-PA-02), and will be followed by a Managed Care update from Camille Dobson, the NASUAD Deputy Executive Director.  Attendees will also have the opportunity to hear from a Congressional Hill panel that will include the Honorable Earl Pomeroy, the Honorable Jim McCrery, Bob Russell and Dan Elling. 

AHCA’s ID/DD providers will then head in the afternoon to Capitol Hill to discuss critical issues, including Medicaid, Medicaid Managed Care and workforce shortages.  If you have any questions relating to this event, please don’t hesitate to contact AHCA’s Senior Director of Not for Profit & Constituent Services, Dana Halvorson. 

NFP Grassroots Advocacy – Facility Visits over Recess

Gary Kelso, AHCA’s NFP Council Chair, encourages AHCA’s NFP providers to participate in our grassroots advocacy efforts in 2017.  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. 

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 115^th 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

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 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

• A Change in Sleep Habits from Normal to Long: Harbinger of Dementia? – alzforum.org
• How the language we use to communicate about disease matters – healthjournalism.org
• Caffeine may ward off dementia by boosting protective enzyme – medicalnewstoday.com
• Aging with a Disability Factsheet Series – agerrtc.washington.edu
• Disability Stigma and Your Patients – agerrtc.washington.edu

Legislative and Agency Corner

• AHCA/NCAL Commends Congress for Reintroducing the Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act – ahcancal.org
• NIH consortium takes aim at vascular disease-linked cognitive impairment and dementia – nih.gov
• Healthy Eating: Alzheimer's Caregiving Tips – nia.nih.gov
• Putting exercise to the test in people at risk for Alzheimer’s – nia.nih.gov
• Alzheimer's Disease Genetics Fact Sheet – nia.nih.gov
• How CDC Is Using Advanced Molecular Detection Technology To Better Fight Flu! – blogs.cdc.gov

Webinars of Interest

Stay informed and tune in to AHCA/NCAL-hosted pre-recorded and live webinars on several topics impacting the long-term care profession, including one coming up on May 11, 2017, entitled “Best” Practice Standards for Nutrition in Long Term Care.   

You also might be interested to register here for NCOA and the Arthritis Foundations’ March 28 Webinar on Reaching People with Arthritis: Strategies and Tools. 

AHCA/NCAL Learning Management Website

AHCA/NCAL has a comprehensive online Learning Management System to support the training needs of its members. The website, known as ahcancalED, contains a wealth of information including educational programs, webinars, instructional videos, training courses, and other tools. It is available free to AHCA/NCAL members.

"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

Noted on the Josh Linkner blog, “To Josh Linkner, creativity and innovation are the lifeblood of all human progress. As such, he’s spent his career harnessing the power of creative disruption.  His journey has been non-traditional at every step. As the founder and CEO of four tech companies, Josh built his businesses from a blank page into a combined value of over $200 million. As a hyper-growth CEO of over 20 years, he’s used innovative approaches to topple competitors, fight through adversity, and achieve at the highest levels.”  The bio section of Linkner’s blog goes on to include that, “Josh is an internationally-recognized thought leader and top-rated keynote speaker on innovation, creativity, reinvention, and hyper-growth leadership. His keynotes are focused on not only inspiring audiences, but also sharing actionable strategies to drive meaningful outcomes.”  Read some of Linkner’s blogs below.  In addition, you can view some of his keynote speaking addresses here.

• There’s Nothing We Can Do
• The Fireworks Principle: How to Improve Any Pitch, Presentation, or Meeting
• How a Six-String CEO Revived an Iconic Brand

Smile, The Sun is Shining Through You

Dr. Bryan K. Williams notes on his blog that, “Powerful, yet underrated.  Majestic, yet overlooked.  The mere mention of the word, smile, makes you want to...smile.  You can literally feel someone's smile; whether it's in person, or on the phone, or via email.  That is how powerful it is.  Regardless of whether you smile with your mouth, eyes or even your whole body, please know that something (or someone) around you will feel it.  Every time..”  The full blog version of the “Smile, The Sun is Shining Through You” article can be found 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 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 ID/DD Committee In-Person Meeting and Hill Fly-In Event in Washington, D.C. – March 21 and 22, 2017
• AHCA/NCAL Congressional Briefing in Washington, D.C. – June 5 – 6, 2017
• 68th Annual AHCA/NCAL Convention & Expo in Las Vegas – October 14-18, 2017

2017 Health Care Observances

April 2017 marks, among other observances, National Parkinson’s Awareness Month, National Occupational Therapy Month, Stress Awareness Month and National Cancer Control Month.  The full 2017 health care related observances calendar can be found here.