Member Resources

The US Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (OIG) has released its updated list which reflects all OIG exclusions and reinstatement actions up to, and including, those taken in January 2018.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health would like to remind all licensed adult day health programs, non-ambulatory surgical center clinics, nursing homes, and rest homes of the deadline for the mandatory reporting of healthcare personnel influenza data. The reporting deadline is April 15, 2018 at 5:00 pm.

CMS has posted a revised SNF Advanced Beneficiary Notice (ABN) form along with instructions here. The SNF ABN is addressed in the interpretive guidelines for F582. CMS previously stated that it would allow providers a 90-day transition time to the use of this new form and during that time would not cite providers for using the old forms. However, SNFs should transition to using the new form as soon as possible.

As part of our ongoing efforts to support recruitment and retention of frontline staff for member providers across the Commonwealth, Massachusetts Senior Care Association and Massachusetts Senior Care Foundation jointly released a Request for Expression of Interest for a Workforce Development Consultant to identify effective recruitment and retention strategies within and outside of the long term care sector that could be adapted to boost staff recruitment and retention in Massachusetts.

On January 26, 2018, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released updated frequently asked questions (FAQs) on the Long Term Care Regulations, Survey Process, and Training requirements.

On February 9, 2018, President Trump signed a two-year budget deal that includes a provision to permanently repeal the Medicare Part B therapy caps, a longstanding priority of the post-acute care provider community.

Join colleagues from across the state at our 2018 Spring Conference & Trade Show on Thursday, March 22nd at the Boxboro Regency. This year's theme, "Out of the Box Thinking: Strategies for Strengthening Our Workforce" will feature experts in the field of labor and workforce development who will share their knowledge and provide best practices which can be immediately implemented at your facility.

South Cove Manor at Quincy Point has announced the appointment of William Graves as President and CEO, effective March 1, 2018.

A calculation error has been identified for the three assessment-based quality measures reported on the SNF QRP Facility- and Resident-Level QM report and the SNF QRP Review and Correct reports (NQF #0678, NQF #0674, and NQF #2631).

Any nursing home that holds itself out to the public or advertises itself as having a dementia special care unit must comply with the requirements at 105 CMR 150.022 through 150.029, and submit its annual disclosure form to the Department of Public Health by March 1, 2018, as required at 105 CMR 150.028(A), regardless of whether the information previously reported in the form has changed.

Earlier this week the House of Representatives passed a funding bill to avert a government shutdown. The bill included a provision to permanently repeal the Medicare Part B outpatient therapy caps.

The Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) has indicated that the 2018 Direct Care Staff Payment Interim Compliance Webform is live on EOHHS’s web portal.

To kick off the 2018 grassroots efforts in support of the Nursing Home Quality Jobs Initiative, Mass Senior Care will be delivering signed thank you cards from member facilities to legislators.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released the Payroll-Based Journal (PBJ) data for the third quarter of the calendar year 2017 to the public through a public use file (PUF) posted here.

CMS is releasing a newly revised SNFABN along with newly developed, concise and separate instructions for form completion.

National Partnership to Improve Dementia Care and Quality Assurance Performance Improvement will host a call on Tuesday, March 20 from 1:30 to 3 pm ET. During this call, gain insight on the phase two changes for person-centered care planning and discharge planning.

Effective February 1, 2018 through April 30, 2018, the $7.5 million increase will be incorporated into facilities' rates via an annualization adjustment to the existing user fee add-on.

Submissions for the 2018 National Quality Award Program are now being accepted online! Application packets are available on the Bronze, Silver and Gold award web pages.

As part of the Massachusetts Senior Care Association's continued effort to update members on MassHealth's five-year 1115 ACO/MCO waiver, we are writing to share with you an important memorandum.

On December 22, 2017 CMS issued an Administrative Memo 18-06-NH: memorandum, “Revised Federal Oversight Support Survey (FOSS) Process National Pilot”. Effective January 8, 2018, CMS is piloting a new two phase FOSS, which will replace the current traditional FOSS and Federal Oversight Quality Indicator Survey (FOQIS) processes. The new FOSS process will focus on the following three broad areas: Abuse and neglect Admission/transfer/discharge Dementia care Prior to 2018, each Regional Office (RO) identified concerns unique to that region. This identified

On January 18, 2018, the U.S.Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that current beneficiaries of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) who want to maintain that status under Haiti’s designation through the program’s termination date of July 22, 2019, are required to re-register between January 18, 2018, and March 19, 2018. Re-registration procedures, including how to renew employment authorization documentation are provided on uscis.gov/tps. All Salvadorans with TPS status are required to re-register between now and March 19, 2018 in order to

The Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) has issued an Administrative Bulletin outlining the compliance rules for the SFY 2018 Nursing Facility Direct Care Staff Payments and a sample spreadsheet of the Interim Report. The official Compliance Form must be filed electronically online, via EOHHS’s web portal.

Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Quality Reporting Program (QRP) Confidential Feedback Reports/Quality Measure Reports are available via the Certification and Survey Provider Enhanced Reports (CASPER) Reporting System.

A revised Medicare-Required SNF PPS Assessments Educational Tool is available.

Our national association, AHCA, has provided on update on the impact of the Congressional Delay on Medicare Extenders Including Part B Therapy Caps starting on January 1, 2018. AHCA previously informed membership that Congress had adjourned for the 2017 session without enacting legislation to address what is often referred to as Medicare "extender payment policies." These policies expired on December 31 and include the Part B therapy cap exception process.

In this session, we will discuss the key regulatory compliance points for survey, the 7 zones of entrapment and how they are measured. Hosted by: Helen Magliozzi, Director of Regulatory Affairs at Massachusetts Senior Care Association and Brenda Demirjian, Strategic Account Manager at Geriatric Medical. Please note: This webinar is being offered to Mass Senior Care Association Members and Geriatric Medical Clients Only Webinar Details: Tuesday, February 6th 1:00 pm- 2pm Click here to register

As a follow-up to the article in last week's E-News Update regarding S&C Memo 18-08-NH: An Initiative to Address Facility Initiated Discharges that Violate Federal Regulations, our national affiliate, the American Health Care Association (AHCA) has provided the following summary for members.

Please join independent owners in New Orleans March 14 – 16 for the AHCA/NCA 2018 Independent Owner Leadership Conference.

To improve the accuracy, completeness and timeliness of reporting, DPH has transitioned from a paper-based system to an electronic web-based system for the reporting of Health Care Personnel Influenza Vaccination Data for the 2017-2018 Influenza Season.

After 15 years with Salter HealthCare, most recently as CEO, Bob Driscoll is set to retire at the end of this month. Over his 41-year healthcare career, Bob has worked as a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator, Executive Director of several family-owned nursing homes and since 2002 as the Chief Operating Officer and CEO at Salter.

Each winter, clusters of respiratory and gastrointestinal (GI) illness occur in Massachusetts’ long term care (LTC) and assisted living (AL) facilities. Clusters of gastrointestinal and respiratory illness in a LTC or AL facility are reportable to public health upon their initial identification, and can be reported using the Gastrointestinal Illness or Influenza/Respiratory Illness Cluster Reporting Forms, found on the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) website.

As a reminder, PBJ data that your center collected from October 1 – December 31, 2017 must be submitted by February 14, 2018.

MassMAP will be holding regional Training and Orientation sessions for new MassMAP members as well as for staff who are not familiar with the MassMAP website.

Mass Senior Care invites staff at member facilities to participate in various committees designed to share information on the topics of clinical quality, regulatory, human resources, finance and reimbursement and education and training. This information and feedback will assist MSCA staff with developing policy positions and prioritizing strategic initiatives.

On December 22, 2017, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released S&C Memorandum 18-08 NH An Initiative to Address Facility Initiated Discharges that Violate Federal Regulations. Federal regulations allow facilities to initiate discharges of residents only in specific instances. As indicated in the memo, despite these protections, discharges which violate Federal regulations continue to be one of the most frequent complaints made to State Long Term Care Ombudsman Programs.

Effective March 1, 2018, MassHealth will begin offering an expanded selection of health plan options to managed care eligible members. These new options are Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), and a key part of MassHealth PCDI. MassHealth will also continue to offer Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) and the Primary Care Clinician (PCC) Plan as managed care options. Please click here to read MassHealth All-Provider Bulletin 272, November 2017.

The Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) today issued an Administrative Bulletin (AB) regarding compliance with the nursing facility user fee assessment program. The AB, which applies beginning with February 1st user fee payments, outlines procedures for non compliance with the quarterly user fee payment and form submission requirements. Please note the following: Failure to pay the user fee assessment in full within 30 days of the due date will result in EOHHS sending a final demand notice

Joy showed up in the lobby of the Copley at Stoughton nursing home on Sumner Street 12 days before Christmas.

The Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) has issued a Notice of Proposed Agency Action which would implement the $7.5 million Medicaid nursing facility rate increase contained in the SFY 2018 budget.

The US Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (OIG) has released its updated list which reflects all OIG exclusions and reinstatement actions up to, and including, those taken in December 2017.