The Trump administration appears to be following through with its promises to scale back on regulatory burdens imposed upon nursing homes with new guidelines published gradually throughout 2017. The new guidelines discourage regulators from imposing excessive fines on nursing homes, according to a New York Times article. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently published an update that deleted the procedure code 97532 from the list of “Always Therapy” codes used to track the Medicare Part B therapy caps. The coding requirement change is effective for services furnished on or after January 1, 2018. According to a memo published by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on December 22, 2017, post-acute care discharges that violate Federal regulations continue to be one of the most frequent nursing home complaints made to State Long Term Care Ombudsman Programs. To adjust for inflation, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) increased their civil monetary penalties for other-than serious, serious, and failure to abate violations (from $12,615 per violation to $12,934, an increase of $319) as well as the penalty for willful and repeat violations (from $126,749 per violation to $129,336, an increase of $2, 587). OSHA’s final rule puts these increases into effect for penalties issued after January 2, 2018. The Skilled Nursing Facility Quality Reporting Program (SNF QRP) Confidential Feedback Reports/Quality Measure Reports containing the assessment and claims-based IMPACT Act measures are now available via the Certification and Survey Provider Enhanced Reports (CASPER) Reporting System. CMS has approved the 2018 standards set forth by the home health accrediting body Community Health Accreditation Partner (CHAP). CHAP’s 2018 Standards of Excellence for Home Health Providers incorporates the new Medicare CoPs. An audio recording and transcript is now posted in the related links section for the December 14, 2017 webinar on Removal of Influenza Vaccination Measure from Quality of Patient Care Star Rating. A Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) study finds that almost 40% of brain tumor patients never enroll in hospice, and a quarter of those who do may enroll too late for full benefits. Visit jobs.hcpro.com and use code HCPROYES to receive 15% off finding your next employee. Valid thru January 15, 2018. New in the January issue of PPS Alert for Long-Term Care... RCS-1: Advantages, disadvantages, and how you can prepare Skilled nursing facility (SNF) providers are on the edge of their seats as they anticipate the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) consideration of a replacement for the Resource Utilization Group (RUG) system, which will change the way facilities are reimbursed for SNF Medicare Part A residents beginning FY2019. The Resident Classification System, Version 1 (RCS-1) will be the most significant change in the current reimbursement model, which has been in place for nearly two decades. Not a subscriber? Sign up here. Monthly Inservice: Critical thinking skills Click here to subscribe to CNA Training Advisor and receive a new lesson plan every month, including course materials, a 4-page in-service, and a quiz targeted to address the unique needs, interests, and concerns of CNAs. Simplified Compliance: Education and Training Tools [webinar] Goodbye RUG-IV, Hello RCS-1: How to Achieve Quality Outcomes Under a New Payment System Evidence-based strategies and assessment tools for preventing, treating, and assessing pressure injuries [webinar] Profit Without Census: How to Achieve Up to $63k in Cost Savings New skills and tools you need to implement your QAPI program | | Product Spotlight The Long-Term Care Administrator’s Boot Camp offers skilled nursing facility administrators a review of Medicare regulations and best practices for ensuring the provision of high-quality services, resident satisfaction, quality survey outcomes, and proper payments. Specifically, The Long-Term Care Administrator’s Boot Camp focuses on how Medicare regulations guide clinical and financial operations, and explains the role of the administrator in admissions, documentation, MDS, billing, coding, compliance and ethics, and quality improvement. This includes how to delegate appropriately, build the necessary infrastructure of quality improvement teams, analyze each facility’s resident population needs and risks, and implement effective systems and processes to achieve regulatory compliance. Administrators can expect to learn how to lead and manage facilities to regulatory compliance and to avoid survey issues, claims audits, and improper Medicare payments. |
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