The Massachusetts Department of Public Health has released a Situation Awareness Alert on the drug Carfentanil. Massachusetts does not currently have any reported cases, but the Situation Awareness Alert is being distributed by DPH due to the significant safety risk Carfentanil poses to the public, healthcare providers, and emergency response personnel. Included in this Alert is an overview of the drug and its current impact in the New England region, as well as treatment and response guidance and resources. In

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services last week issued a notice extending the reporting deadline for the Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Quality Reporting (QRP) Federal Fiscal Year 2018 payment determination from May 15, 2017 to June 1, 2017, due to extenuating circumstances. The MDS assessment data for October-December (Q4) of calendar year 2016 are due with this submission deadline. In addition, the CMS contractor (CORMAC) or the QTSO help desk sent notices last week to many SNF providers that

Mass Senior Care President Tara Gregorio has sent a letter to the Secretary of Department of Homeland Security regarding the potential elimination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for the estimated 4,300 Haitians affected by Haiti’s 2010 earthquake who are currently living and working in Massachusetts under this program. Gregorio requested that the Department extend the designation of Haiti for TPS for at least an additional 18 months. The TPS is scheduled to end on July 22, 2017. The Secretary has

Earlier this week a number of Mass Senior Care members today informed us that their MassHealth remittance advice for April 2017 dates of service indicated that some portion or all of their billed claims were being pended and would not be paid next Monday, May 22nd. We raised this issue with MassHealth and MassHealth indicated that this resulted from a glitch in the claims processing system for April 2017 dates of service and that it would re-run the payroll to

Mass Senior Care has received notification from several of our members that during both Standard and Complaint surveys, facilities are being cited for failing to report alleged violations involving abuse, neglect or mistreatment, including injuries of unknown source and misappropriation of resident property, immediately, but not later than 2 hours after the allegation is made, if the events that cause the allegation involve abuse or result in serious bodily injury. These citations are specifically for “not reporting within 2 hours”

MassHealth has notified nursing facility providers via a message text that it will delay by approximately two weeks processing nursing facility claims for May 2017 dates of service. This effectively means that nursing facility payment for May 2017 claims received by MassHealth in May or June will be pushed from late June to July 10, 2017. As you may recall, MassHealth has applied this temporary cash management delay for the last seven fiscal years. As in the past, MassHealth has

On May 16th, the Senate Committee on Ways and Means released its state FY 2018 budget recommendation. The Committee’s recommendation includes level funding for the current year $35.5 million direct care add on and would establish a temporary employer health contribution that would generate $180 million, while providing the Governor’s Administration broad authority to execute the program including allowing an exception for nursing facilities. We urge members to continue participating in the Legislative Action Alert asking their senators to co-sponsor

Mass Senior Care’s Human Resource Committee will meet on Friday, June 2 nd from 10 am – 12 noon at the Educational Bridge Center on the Notre Dame campus in Worcester. Please click here for directions and parking instructions. Meeting Agenda: Introductions/Announcements Update on Mass Senior Care’s 2017 Legislative Agenda Featured presentations on strategies that have positively impacted the recruitment, retention and professional development of CNAs. Legal update on employer compliance with federal and state law regarding meal break waivers

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 April 2017. This new file is meant to replace the updated LEIE database file available for download last month. Individuals and entities that have been reinstated to the federal health care programs are not included in this file. https://oig.hhs.gov/exclusions/exclusions_list.asp The updated files are posted on the OIG’s

The National Nursing Home Quality Improvement Campaign has scheduled a special all-stakeholder call on Tuesday, June 13, 2017 from 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm highlighting an innovative quality improvement training program, QAPI Push. QAPI Push is an intensive 6-week instructional series that joins forces with state survey agencies to assist nursing home staff with mastering the principles of Quality Assurance Performance Improvement (QAPI) while temporarily placing state surveys on hold. Telligen Nursing Home Quality Program Specialist Linda Savage, RN, BSN