The
American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living
(AHCA/NCAL) recently commended several members of Congress for reintroducing
the Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act of 2019 (H.R. 1682/S. 753). Introduced on March 12, 2019, by Congressmen
Joe Courtney (D-CT) and Glenn 'GT' Thompson (R-PA) and Senators Sherrod Brown
(D-OH), Susan Collins (R-ME), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Shelley Moore
Capito (R-WV), the legislation ensures that time spent under “observation
status” in a hospital counts toward satisfying the three-day inpatient hospital
requirement for coverage of skilled nursing care services under Medicare.
“This
bipartisan bill will help fix an outdated policy that continues to leave
millions of Medicare beneficiaries surprised by thousands of dollars in medical
bills and hanging with uncertainty regarding their access to the Medicare
coverage they deserve,” said Mark Parkinson, President and CEO of
AHCA/NCAL. “The members of Congress that
reintroduced this important legislation are advocates for our nation’s seniors
and individuals who need skilled nursing care.
We applaud their efforts and support.”
For more information about the observation stays issue, please visit the
AHCA/NCAL
website.
Last week,
David Gifford, MD, MPH, Senior Vice President of Quality at the American Health
Care Association testified before the Senate Finance Committee to address
concerns and instances of abuse and neglect in nursing centers. The hearing, titled “Not
Forgotten: Protecting Americans From Abuse and Neglect in Nursing Homes,”
was called in response to two instances of abuse and neglect that happened to
individuals in Iowa and Minnesota. The daughters of those individuals, Patricia
Blank and Maya Fischer, also testified before the committee to tell their
stories.
Gifford
denounced abuse and neglect in nursing centers, saying they should never occur.
“Families and residents like you and your mothers, who are often at their most
vulnerable and in the most need of care and support, should never have to worry
about their physical safety” he said during his opening remarks.
“AHCA
remains committed to reducing any future cases of abuse and neglect.” Gifford
said in a statement. “Since we voluntarily launched our Quality Initiative in
2012, we have seen tremendous improvements in the quality of care provided to
nursing home residents. Care at our members’ nursing homes continues to improve
and remain high for 18 of the 24 quality outcomes measured by the Centers for
Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), including fewer residents receiving
antipsychotic medications and more people returning home after rehabilitation
care.
Gifford
said that AHCA is offering solutions to help reduce instances of neglect and
abuse. He said the main driver of quality is staffing and said incentives like
a federal loan forgiveness program for nursing center staff. He also said that
nursing centers should have access to a national background check registry and
that resident and family satisfaction ratings of nursing homes should be
publicly available.
“AHCA stands ready to work with Congress,
members of the Senate Finance Committee, CMS, and other providers to keep
residents safe and continue improving the quality of care provided,” he said in
a statement.
The
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently issued a
memorandum, "April
2019 Improvements to Nursing Home Compare and the Five Star Rating System,"
about changes to the Five-Star Rating system on Nursing Home Compare that will
go into effect in April 2019. CMS has also posted a revised Technical Users'
Guide reflecting these changes.
Highlights
of the changes are:
-
CMS will end the survey freeze on the health
inspection domain of Five Star and will resume the traditional method of
calculating the health inspection scores by using three cycles of inspections.
- Nursing Home Compare will begin to report
separate ratings for short-stay quality measures and long-stay quality
measures. With the introduction of these separate ratings, the thresholds for
quality measures will increase every six months.
- Additionally, two measures are being added to
the quality measure domain, which include long-stay hospitalization and
long-stay Emergency Department (ED) visits. The long-stay physical restraints
measure will be removed from the quality measure rating. The short-stay
pressure ulcer and short-stay discharge community measures currently used will
be replaced with their analogous Quality Reporting Program (QRP) measures.
- CMS will be adjusting the thresholds for
overall staffing ratings, which will provide a greater emphasis on RN staffing.
- CMS will give a one-star staffing rating to
those facilities that report four or more days without an RN in a quarter.
Click here
for a more detailed summary.
AHCA will
continue to provide updates on these changes. If you have any questions, please
contact research@ahca.org.
The American Health Care Association (AHCA) recently announced “Live
Soulfully” as the 2019 theme for National Skilled Nursing Care Week (NSNCW),
which will be held May 12-18. The theme
“Live Soulfully” will celebrate skilled nursing centers, and their residents
and staff, by showcasing how they achieve happy minds and healthy souls. Whether it’s planting, cooking, reading or
listening to music, these centers pay it forward by helping individuals find
happiness to improve quality of life.
Centers will be encouraged to participate by hosting activities that
display how they “Live Soulfully” and share their stories and experiences on
social media.
“Each and every person in our profession makes
an impact on the lives of our residents,” said AHCA/NCAL President and CEO Mark
Parkinson. “National Skilled Nursing Care Week celebrates our centers and
caregivers for their tireless everyday work caring for others.”
Established by the American Health Care
Association (AHCA) in 1967, NSNCW, formerly known as National Nursing Home
Week, recognizes the essential role of skilled nursing care centers in caring
for America’s frail, elderly, and disabled.
Skilled nursing care centers and members of the public can download
NSNCW promotional materials at www.ahcancal.org/NSNCW and are encouraged to
share activities, ideas, and experiences for the observance on social media
using the hashtag, #NSNCW. AHCA will
issue a planning guide and product catalog in late February. For more information on National Skilled
Nursing Care Week, visit www.ahcancal.org/NSNCW.
AHCA/NCAL
is beginning a new social media advocacy initiative this year and is
encouraging all members to get involved.
The effort focuses on improving the overall image of the post-acute and
long term care profession by sharing positive stories and pushing back on
pieces that attempt to tie all providers to isolated negative events.
AHCA/NCAL
will be sending interested members tips for getting more involved on social
media, best practices for posting content, sample posts, and a roundup of
positive stories about the profession on a regular basis. Individuals who want
to get involved should email socialmedia@ahca.org to get on
the mailing list. AHCA/NCAL is encouraging all members to get involved.
The
campaign also will include a rapid response to stories that are unfairly
negative about the profession or do not accurately portray the reality of
post-acute and long term care. AHCA/NCAL
hopes to build on these successes as the year continues. With thousands of
buildings nationwide who touch the lives of millions of people, there is the
chance to seriously affect the way the profession is viewed and treated by
lawmakers and the media.
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.
