FY 2020-2021 State Budget Approved by Legislature - No Cuts for Nursing Facilities, Increase in CAV Limit, Wage Pass Through Extended Three Months, and $20 Million Fund for PPE In an unusual budget process, today the legislature passed a budget bill negotiated with Governor Gretchen Whitmer for the state's 2020-2021 fiscal year. The bill was negotiated between legislative leadership and the administration. There were no public meetings on the bills, and the process did not include the usual input from stakeholders. Details were not shared with the public until this morning.
The state faced a $1 billion budget deficit, and Governor Whitmer previously proposed an $85 million cut to nursing facilities in her 2020-2021 FY state budget proposal issued in February.
HCAM advocated strongly against a cut to the profession, particularly in the midst of a pandemic, which resulted in the budget fully funding our line. In addition, a number of other provisions impacting the profession were included in the bill, which can be found by clicking HERE.
The budget includes CARES Act funding to continue the $2 per hour wage pass through for direct care workers for an additional three months through December. It is our understanding that this is a continuation of the current program and will apply to the same direct care workers (RN, LPN, CNA, and respiratory therapists).
HCAM has been advocating for funding from the state to support nursing facilities COVID-19 response. The budget includes $20 million in PPE grants specifically for nursing facilities. While the details of the grant program have not been determined at this time, HCAM will be advocating for greater flexibility for the use of these funds, including for staffing, business interruptions, and other expenses related to COVID-19.
Finally, the budget bill included boilerplate language increasing the capital asset value bed limit (CAV). This language was previously negotiated between HCAM and the state budget office in previous years. The current CAV limit is based on a database of construction costs dating back to 1975. The new limit will be determined based on a rolling 15-year history of new construction for the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2020- the increase in the current asset value bed limit shall not exceed 4% of the limit for the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2019. This will allow for more accurate reflection of construction costs.
NHSN Transitioning All LTC Users to Level 3 Access - Allows For POC Antigen Testing Reporting Note: This change applies only to skilled nursing facility (SNF) users who first gained access to the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) through the expedited enrollment process offered in early Spring 2020, and who do not have a Secure Access Management Services (SAMS) grid card. NHSN SNF users with an active SAMS grid card already have full access to all NHSN modules, and do not need to take any further action.
In Spring 2020, some LTCF staff gained access to NHSN via an expedited enrollment process that enabled them to report aggregate Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) data into NHSN. These users received "Level 1" SAMS security clearance and have access only to the LTCF COVID-19 Module in NHSN.
In the coming weeks, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will be migrating all Level 1 users to Level 3 SAMS access, which will enable users to access:
This change is being made to accommodate additional capacity to report in-house, point-of-care antigen test results into NHSN to satisfy federal reporting requirements, which requires Level 3 security access. NHSN has indicated this additional capacity will be available starting October 15, 2020. Users will complete an identity verification process (similar to applying for a passport) to gain Level 3 access and receive a SAMS grid card in the mail. Users will then use the SAMS grid card to log in to NHSN.
Additional notes:
CMS Updates County Positivity Rates Last week the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) shared they would begin updating the COVID County Positivity Rates on a weekly basis. The rates were last updated yesterday, September 22, 2020. Currently, all Michigan counties remain in the green and yellow categories, indicating positivity conversion rates remain less than 10.0%.
CDC & CMS Recommend and Share Reminder To Get Vaccinated for Influenza It's flu season - time to get your flu shot!
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) recommend all individuals 65 years or older, and all healthcare workers receive influenza vaccinations. In addition, CDC has published A Toolkit for Long-Term Care Employers on its website that contains tools and resources to assist providers in managing influenza vaccinations.
For questions or concerns please contact Cathy Sunlin at CathySunlin@HCAM.org.
Sept. 23, 2020 |