• FY 2026 Budget Conference Committee Appointed • MAVRIC Launch – June 2

• CMS Increased Oversight - Federal Medicaid Funding for Illegal Immigrants • Proposed Federal Financial Aide Cuts Raise Concerns for Massachusetts • UMass Lowell Launches Fully On-Line RN to BS Degree Program

• Nursing Facility Temporary Nursing Service (TNS) Agency Usage Data Trend • REMINDER: Expanded Suitability Review and Management Companies

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On May 13th, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) posted a Federal Register notice of termination of the designation of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Afghanistan. The termination is effective July 14, 2025. Absent court intervention, after July 14, 2025, nationals of Afghanistan who have been granted TPS under Afghanistan’s designation will no longer have TPS or work authorizations.

On May 19th, the U.S. Supreme Court, in an emergency order with only one noted dissent, authorized the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for nearly 350,000 Venezuelan immigrants currently residing in the United States.

As a reminder, the mandatory off-cycle SNF provider enrollment revalidation deadline has been pushed back to August 1, 2025. On Friday, May 9th, the CMS posted updated sub-regulatory guidance addressing a number of frequently asked questions.

Nursing facilities are reminded to remain diligent in their infection control practices to limit the spread of COVID-19 to residents and staff. At the expiration of the PHE, DPH released guidance on Organizational Policies and Procedures for Mitigating Respiratory Illness. Nursing facilities must continue to identify and monitor respiratory illness metrics to indicate when there are increased levels which may necessitate implementing these infection control measures.

On May 1, the new Director of the Bureau of Health Care Safety and Quality, Teryl Smith, released an initial memo implementing Chapter 197 of the Acts of 2024 An Act to Improve Quality and Oversight of Long-Term Care. The Act requires the Department of Public Health (DPH), among other actions, to conduct a suitability review of current management company contracts and to conduct a review of a management company prior to entering into a contract with a long-term care facility.