AG Office To Issue Press Release on Visitation The association has been notified the Attorney General's Office (AG) is intending to release a press release by early next week sharing the intent to enforce existing restrictions on visitation in long-term care facilities. Executive Order 2020-156 , issued July 23rd, extended the restrictions of visitor entry to health care facilities, residential care facilities, and congregate care facilities initiated early in the COVID-19 pandemic through August 31st. The Emergency Order issued by Director Robert Gordon on June 30th offered clarification to exceptions to these temporary restrictions, which include:
Gordon's Emergency Order also clarifies and provides guidance as to how those exceptions should be determined and implemented by providers. This Emergency Order is in effect until lifted.
It is our understanding the AG's Office intent is that long term care providers hold strictly to these exceptions to the visitation restrictions. As additional information is available, we will share with members.
Possible Funding for Assisted Living Settings Assisted Living settings (Licensed and Non-Licensed) should submit their information to the Portal as shared in recent updates. We do not anticipate that the deadline of Monday, August 3 at 5 pm ET will be extended. Please review the very helpful FAQs. Further questions should be directed to Katherine Preede at KPreede@ncal.org.
Reminder that this data collection is in anticipation of a "Possible" fund distribution.
Nursing Home Compare Quarterly Refresh with Skilled Nursing Facility QRP Data The July 2020 Nursing Home Compare (NHC) Quality Reporting Program (QRP) data submitted to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), is now available. For this refresh SNF QRP assessment-based measures performance scores will be based upon data submitted to CMS between Q4 2018 - Q3 2019 (10/01/18 - 09/30/19); claims-based measures performance scores will be based upon SNF Prospective Payment System (PPS) claims dated between Q4 2016 and Q3 2018 (10/01/16 - 9/30/18).
In summary, the following SNF QRP measures will displayed on NH Compare during the July 2020 refresh: 2. Application of Percent of Long-Term Care Hospital (LTCH) Patients With an Admission and Discharge Functional Assessment and a Care Plan That Addresses Function -Q4 2018 - Q3 2019 (10/01/18 - 09/30/19) 3. Medicare Spending Per Beneficiary-PAC SNF QRP -Q4 2016 and Q3 2018(10/01/16 - 9/30/18) 4. Discharge to Community-PAC SNF QRP -Q4 2016 and Q3 2018(10/01/16 - 9/30/18) 5. Potentially Preventable 30-Day Post-Discharge Readmission Measure - SNF QRP -Q4 2016 and Q3 2018(10/01/16 - 9/30/18) Please visit the NH Compare website to view the updated quality data. For questions about SNF QRP Public Reporting please email SNFQRPPRQuestions@cms.hhs.gov.
BPL To Move Professional Licensing To MiPLUS The Bureau of Professional Licensing (BPL) within the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) is moving to a new online licensing and regulatory database for health and occupational professions, called Michigan Professional Licensing User System (MiPLUS). The tentative launch date for this Phase 3a of the new system is August 25, 2020. This phase involves the 13 professions including: Acupuncture, Architects, Audiology, Athletic Trainers, Marriage and Family Therapists, Massage Therapists, Nursing Home Administrators, Professional Engineers Professional Surveyors, Psychology, Real Estate, Sanitarians and Speech Language Pathology. In order to allow time for migration of current licensing records into the new system, the BPL office will be unable to process license applications, license renewals, or changes to licenses between August 3, 2020 and August 25, 2020, for these professions only. This Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document provides answers to questions regarding the conversion to the new system. Additional questions or concerns regarding the transition should be directed to the BPL staff at 517-241-0199 or email BPLHELP@michigan.gov. Of note: do not attempt to create or register for a MiPLUS account until after August 25, 2020. Doing so will negatively impact your ability to interact with the system as it will require that you contact the BPL office to correct your account. You can review information and videos available here.
PEPPER Reports Available For 4th Quarter 2019 Fourth quarter FY 2019 Program for Evaluating Payment Patterns Electronic Reports (PEPPERs) are available for Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs) and Long-Term Care Hospitals (LTCHs). These reports summarize provider-specific data statistics for Medicare services that may be at risk for improper payments. Providers can use the data to support internal auditing and monitoring activities. For More Information:
For questions or concerns please contact Cathy Sunlin at CathySunlin@HCAM.org.
July 31, 2020 |