News

Following LeadingAge national advocacy, HUD and Grant Solutions have agreed to offer extensions on the deadline for Standards for Success (SfS) reports for Service Coordination programs. The current deadline of Oct. 31 can be extended to Dec. 30, due to glitches in the reporting form. If you want to request If you want to request an extension for your Standards for Success reporting, email AskGMO@hud.gov to request it. The SfS reporting form is currently experiencing glitches that is causing form submission issues or inaccurate data collection; the glitches arose after several new data elements were added to the SfS reporting process this year. LeadingAge is working with Grant Solutions to fix the reporting glitches, including delimiter fields, lack of N/A fields, and issues with drop down form options populating. Service Coordinators should report any further issues to Juliana (jbilowich@leadingage.org) so that we can work with Grant Solutions to adjust the reporting form. Please note that if you are utilizing a third party service to submit your SfS reports, you made not be aware of the glitches and do not need to take further action.

In response to advocacy by LeadingAge national and others, HUD has extended the 2023 Standards for Success report submission due date to December 31. The Standards for Success reporting period began Oct. 1, 2022 and ended Sept. 30, 2023. The report submission due date was originally October 30. However, this year the Standards for Success data elements are being updated to improve data validity and quality of reporting, and there are glitches in the reporting form. HUD reported that the work has an anticipated completion date of Nov. 2, which is after the usual report submission due date of Oct. 30. LeadingAge has worked with Grant Solutions to identify and solve glitches reported by housing provider members. Previously, Grant Solutions was allowing extensions by request, but LeadingAge urged HUD to broadly extend the reporting timeframe to help preserve the integrity of the data submitted by Service Coordinators across the country. HUD has officially extended the deadline to Dec. 31, for all Multifamily Service Coordinator grantees. Reporting entities can submit their reports to HUD through the Standards for Success reporting tool and data repository, GrantSolutions OLDC, by direct data input (OLDC Form) or data file upload (Data File). If a provider was able to submit their reports at an earlier time using a third-party service, they may not need to take additional action at this time.

LeadingAge national hosted a members-only policy update call on the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act (HOTMA). During the recorded call, LeadingAge housing experts discussed new guidance from HUD on HOTMA implementation, key deadlines to be aware of, and next steps for housing providers. The call also reviewed HUD’s new asset limit rule and key questions from housing providers. The slides and recording are available for members here.

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation released their yearly evaluation of the Value Based Insurance Design (VBID) demonstration including an at-a-glance review of the Hospice Benefit component. More than 1,168 hospices provided care to at least one hospice-eligible VBID beneficiary, a substantial increase from 2021’s 596 hospices. Of those hospices, only 22 percent were in network hospices, but that’s a 6% increase since 2021. In 2022, almost half of VBID beneficiaries receiving hospice care chose in-network hospices, up from 37% in 2021. Additional key findings on the hospice benefit include:

The data submission deadline for patients that passed away in April, May, and June 2023 (Quarter 2 2023) is Nov. 8. Survey vendors are responsible for successfully submitting files by 11:59 p.m. on Nov. 8. Hospice programs are encouraged to ensure their vendor properly submitted information.

CDC has released the new Vaccine Information Sheets (VIS) for this season’s COVID and RSV vaccines. Access the COVID VIS here and the RSV VIS here. Both VISs can be downloaded to PDF or RTF files for ease of sharing. Use this information to educate your residents, families, and staff about the benefits of vaccination.

Phillip Hanold, a health policy administration student at Penn State University, recently completed an internship with Foxdale Village Retirement Community. He is also working there part-time as he completes his schooling. This internship, which Friends Services Alliance coordinated, was incredibly meaningful for Phillip. He shares his experience in this narrative.

LeadingAge PA, the leading voice for aging services in Pennsylvania, is pleased to announce it recently awarded Baptist Senior Family in Pittsburgh, PA a $50,000 grant through the Association’s Administrator-in-Training (AIT) Grant program.

MECHANICSBURG, Pa. (Oct. xx, 2023) — A new survey of LeadingAge PA member nursing homes confirms that the professional caregiver worker shortage has shown no sign of improving. This comes at a time when state and federal governments are set to increase staffing mandates — leading most of the nonprofit and mission-driven communities surveyed to turn away residents who desperately need long-term care. Read the survey results in full here.

LeadingAge national has developed an FAQ to help answer questions regarding the proposed staffing mandate published on Sept. 6 in the Federal Register. The FAQ is a fluid document and will be updated as questions are answered from CMS and more details are available. Please access the FAQ here. LeadingAge national has also shared a “Tips for Submitting Comments” guide with talking points and resources to assist you as you draft comments in response to the proposed federal mandate. LeadingAge PA will be sharing a supplement with talking points to guide you in addressing the particular impact this mandate would have here in PA. Watch for our updated talking points and Action Alert soon. Public Comments are due by Nov. 6. As a reminder, additional resources and information on the Proposed Rule are available on LeadingAge national’s update page, including recordings and slides from members-only Town Halls, in-depth analysis, and impact tools. We’ll also continue to provide you with updates on LeadingAge PA’s efforts in Harrisburg and D.C. over the coming weeks. The LeadingAge PA government affairs team met with our national counterparts this week to strategize a multi-pronged approach to making sure the message coming from Pennsylvania is loud and clear. Contact Regulatory Affairs Director Anna Warheit with questions.

(Newtown Square, Pa.) — This year’s fourth annual White Horse Village Walk to End Alzheimer’s fundraiser has raised $37,320, well surpassing its goal of $23,000. Since 2020, the nonprofit senior living community has consistently exceeded its fundraising goal, with donations totaling over $110,000 for the Alzheimer’s Association Delaware Valley Chapter.

Chapel Ridge resident Paul Monjar celebrated his 106th birthday this week. Rep. Martin Causer, R-Turtlepoint, helped Monjar and his friends and family recognize the milestone at a party Thursday.

(New Holland, Pa.) — The Board of Directors for Garden Spot Communities and Frederick Living announce the affiliation of the two organizations. Garden Spot Communities and Frederick Living share a similar mission and values as faith-based, non-profit continuing care retirement communities.

(Newtown Square, Pa.) — Residents at White Horse Village are building momentum for their efforts to support the education of team members, awarding $53,888 in scholarships to 28 recipients for their studies this fall.

In a reminder to affordable housing providers sent on Aug. 14, HUD’s Multifamily Housing team emphasized existing rules around tenant organizing. Specifically, HUD reiterated that affordable housing communities subsidized through project-based Section 8, Section 202, and other HUD rental assistance programs are required to make community spaces available for meetings when requested by tenant organizations. Additional rules for tenant organizing in HUD-assisted Multifamily Housing, as well as information about a recent HUD funding opportunity to support capacity building of tenant organizations, is available here.