E-News Update Articles

Member Updates: House Ways & Means Committee Budget Recommends $112 Million Over Current Nursing Facility Rates; MassHealth Re-Issues COVID-Preparedness Program Bulletin; Register for MassHealth April 26th Training Webinar.

Member Updates: DPH Conference Call for Long Term Care Providers on Wednesday, April 12, 2023; Webinar Recording Now Available: FY24 SNF Proposed Payment Rule.

The Board of Registration of Nursing Home Administrators has verified that all Nursing Home Administrator licensees are required to complete 20 CEUs for this renewal period ending 6/20/2023.

CMS Center for Clinical Standards and Quality/Quality Safety Oversight Group has issued a revised 21-page Guidance and Survey Process for Reviewing Home Dialysis Services in a Nursing Home (Rev QSO-18-24-ESRD) to State Survey Agency Directors. This is effective immediately.

The Massachusetts Center for Health Information and Analysis (CHIA) has issued its Spring Data Matters newsletter highlighting the agency’s recent actions.

The Legislature’s Joint Committee on Elder Affairs has scheduled a public in person and virtual hearing on Monday, April 10th at 9:30 am on the Omnibus Nursing Home reform bill: An Act to Improve Quality and Oversight of Long-Term Care.

The draft Minimum Data Set (MDS) 3.0 Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI) Manual is now available. The MDS 3.0 RAI User’s Manual v1.18.11 will be effective beginning October 01, 2023.

As the October deadline draws closer for compliance with the food and nutrition director requirements, a reminder that CMS added to the requirements for the director of food and nutrition services at § 483.60(a)(2)(E) as part of the 2023 SNF PPS rule published in August 2022.

The American Health Care Association (AHCA) continues to develop resources and tools to assist nursing facilities with maintaining compliance with the CMS Requirements of Participation (RoPs).

The Betsy Lehman Center will introduce the new Roadmap to Health Care Safety at the Massachusetts Health Policy Forum in Boston on April 26.

The next CMS Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNF)/Long Term Care (LTC) Open Door Forum is scheduled for Thursday, April 13, 2023, from 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM ET.

CMS is preparing to move to the Internet Quality Improvement and Evaluation System (iQIES) for Minimum Data Set (MDS) submissions.

Member Updates: Reminder: 3 Day Stay Waiver Ends May 11; Letters of Support Needed for MSCA Workforce Grant Application; HPC Convenes Health Care Workforce Forum.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) yesterday issued its proposed federal fiscal year 2024 (FFY 2024) Medicare SNF PPS rule, covering October 2023 through September 2024. CMS is proposing an overall net market basket increase of 3.7%.

Information Distributed to Physicians on Inappropriate Use of Antipsychotic Medications and Erroneous Diagnosis of Schizophrenia; CMS Rescinds QSO-20-31-ALL and Issues Updated Guidance for Enhanced Enforcement for Infection Control Deficiencies; MassHealth Issues Provider Bulletin Announcing Update to COVID-19 Surveillance Testing Supplemental Payments for NFs: Payments Ending On April 30, 2023.

Audits & Investigations: What To Do When The Government Comes “Knocking” Tuesday, April 4, 2023 2:00PM - 3:30PM Via Zoom 1.5 CEUs It can be both daunting and overwhelming for providers to confront audits and investigations initiated by government agencies, particularly when significant demands are made without much, if any, notice and little time to respond. It is essential to understand the rights and obligations of providers encountering these circumstances and what can be done to best protect your interests

Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell this week issued an advisory to reinforce the regulatory requirements temporary nursing agencies must follow regarding the permissible rates that may be charged to long-term care facilities.

The American Health Care Association (AHCA) is excited to announce that the 2023 National Skilled Nursing Care Week (NSNCW) Planning Guide and products are now available at www.nsncw.org.

We are saddened to let you know about the passing of Larry Gerber on March 25th after a brief illness. Larry was the founder and Chief Executive Officer of EPOCH Senior Living.

Governor Healey yesterday signed into law a $1.1 billion fiscal year 2023 Supplemental Budget to provide additional funding for core state programs.

The RCA to CNA Pipeline: Leveraging Rapid Upward Mobility Wednesday, March 29, 2023 10:30 am to 11:30 AM To address our historic, frontline worker shortage, it is critically necessary that facilities adopt the Resident Care Assistant (RCA) to Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) pipeline as a key strategy to grow your own workforce. The RCA position was designed specifically to support existing nursing staff, assist with resident care, and create an accessible path for career advancement to CNA. Learn how to

Candida auris (C. auris) was recently named one of five urgent threats in the CDC Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the United States. There are active cases of C. auris in long term care facilities in Massachusetts and across the country.

Last week the Massachusetts Advisory Council on Alzheimer’s Disease and all other Dementias approved and submitted to the legislature it’s 2022 Annual Report. The annual report includes the Council’s progress during 2022 and its next steps for 2023.

Beginning today, March 24th at 9:00 p.m. ET, there will be a planned upgrade to the Secure Access Management Service (SAMS) database.

The Legislature yesterday enacted and laid before the Governor a $1.1 billion fiscal year 2023 Supplemental Budget to provide additional funding for core state programs.

Massachusetts of Department of Public Health Registry of Vital Records and Statistics (RVRS) has embarked on a 21st Century Modernization Project. Included in this project is streamlining the death pronouncement process and creating an on-line feature through their newly developed and implemented electronic system.

Mass Senior Care has long supported and advocated for the conversion of the Medicaid MMQ payment system to the Federal MDS acuity system thereby eliminating the administrative burden of operating 2 acuity systems and to better capture the cost of resident care.

MassHealth has scheduled a Redetermination Presentation for Long Term Care Facilities on March 28, from 10:00 am to 11:30 am. MassHealth will allow for Questions and Answers at this meeting.

The Healey-Driscoll Administration has filed a FY23 Supplemental Budget to provide additional funding for core programs. Beginning Friday, March 24th at 9:00 p.m. ET, there will be a planned upgrade to the Secure Access Management Service (SAMS) database. Register Now for upcoming Webinars.

New workshops just added on MassHealth Redeterminations and RCA to CNA Pipeline

The NIPF is a national forum for any infection preventionist (IP) or infection prevention champions in long term care (LTC) to share lessons learned and resources and get questions answered.

To address our historic, frontline worker shortage, it is critically necessary that facilities adopt the Resident Care Assistant (RCA) to Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) pipeline as a key strategy to grow your own workforce.

The Healey administration has announced that effective May 11, the state's modified COVID-19 public health emergency will be lifted in alignment with the end of the federal public health emergency.

March 13th -17th is Long Term Care Administrator’s Week, a time for us to appreciate and celebrate the critical role administrators have in providing leadership for the delivery of quality, resident-centered care and a supportive work environment.

The Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC), a non-partisan legislative branch agency that provides policy and data analysis and makes recommendations to Congress, yesterday issued its 2023 annual report.

The Center for Health Information and Analysis (CHIA) released its Annual Report on the Performance of the Massachusetts Health Care System.

CMS is preparing to move to iQIES for MDS submissions and it is important to create an account and establish credentials in the HCQIS Access Roles and Profile (HARP) System.

We are pleased to announce our collaboration with Academic Platforms, the creator of CNAOnline.com, a nationally renowned on-line training program for nursing assistants.

The Healey administration has announced that effective May 11, the state's modified COVID-19 public health emergency will be lifted in alignment with the end of the federal public health emergency.

March 26-April 1, 2023 in National Careers in Aging Week. The U.S. will need between 5.7 and 6.5 million nurses, nurse aides, home health, and personal care workers for the 27 million Americans who will require long term care by 2050. There is no better time than Careers in Aging Week to bring greater visibility to the full range of career opportunities in long term care and aging services, as well as to celebrate current employees in long term care

Lori Piracci, Human Resources Manager at Oriol Health Care, recently shared their excellent employee appreciation program with members of MSCAs Workforce Innovations Collaborative. Lori presented Oriol’s “Shout Out” program, which invites all employees, family members and residents to write a shout out expressing personal appreciation for acts of kindness and outstanding performance from employees in all departments. These shout outs are publicly posted in Oriol facilities as one element of the company’s culture building practices. The shout outs are collected

In today’s labor market there are simply not enough certified nursing assistants to meet demand. To address this shortage, MSCA actively promotes strategies to build the caregiving pipeline at all levels. With a 23% caregiver vacancy rate in MA, it’s absolutely vital that a key component of any workforce development strategy is to grow our own caregivers. To that end, MSCA is pleased to announce our collaboration with Academic Platforms. As the creator of the free Massachusetts Resident Care Assistant

The RCA to CNA Pipeline: Leveraging Rapid Upward Mobility Wednesday, March 29, 2023 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM In order to work toward being fully staffed for Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) in Massachusetts’ nursing homes, an additional 4,000 CNAs need to be hired. As the demand for CNAs clearly exceeds supply, facilities must embrace strategies to grow their own workforce. Learn how to recruit employees who are not yet certified, onboard them as Resident Care Assistants (RCAs), and quickly Upskill

Massachusetts has excellent, accessible options for upskilling CNAs to Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs) through the State’s Vocational Technical Schools and Community Colleges. MSCA has confirmed these schools still have space available for the upcoming fall semester. A group of the State’s Vocational Technical High Schools have teamed up to form a consortium working together to build capacity in their popular adult education LPN training programs. The consortium came together to apply for a grant through the MA Workforce Skills Cabinet

The DPH released revised Caring for Long-Term Care Residents During the COVID-19 Response guidance. The revised guidance will no longer require surveillance testing in the long-term care facilities effective March 31, 2023.

The Senate passed a supplemental budget bill for state fiscal year 2023 which would extend to March 31, 2024 both the state’s policy of allowing (1) nursing school graduates and students in their final semester of nursing education to practice nursing in in-patient health care settings and (2) a nurse employed by an Assisted Living Residence to provide skilled nursing care in accordance with valid medical orders. Both of these provisions were originally authorized during the COVID public health emergency

Mass Senior Care is pleased to welcome new members to our Association.

As a reminder, the FY 2023 SNF PPS Final Rule adopted one new quality measure into the SNF QRP: the Influenza Vaccination Coverage among Healthcare Personnel (HCP) measure. This data must be entered into the NHSN using Healthcare Personnel Safety (HPS) Component.

The Senate yesterday passed a supplemental budget bill for state fiscal year 2023.

The Customer-Focused Research Group (CFRG) within the newly formed Office of Burden Reduction and Health Informatics (OBRHI) at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is currently conducting a Nursing Home qualitative research engagement focused on identifying the overall experience of National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) data reporting, Minimum Data Set (MDS) Assessment data reporting, and transitions in insurance coverage.