Skilled Nursing

House Bill 2604 HB 6604), which amends the Health Care Facilities Act to clarify requirements pertaining to photo identification (ID) badges in health care facilities, was unanimously passed by the House Health Committee this week. Specifically, the bill would allow the name of a health system or the fictitious name (that is registered with the Department of State) of a health care facility, health system, or employment agency to be recognized as an acceptable name on a photo ID badge. LeadingAge PA will continue to monitor this legislation. If you have questions or comments on the bill, please contact Austin Cawley at acawley@leadingagepa.org.

PA LTC LN Webinar Invitation for 6.23.22 Contact List for Directed In-Service Providers

Ziegler released a short analysis on rebranding trends in nursing home partnership (NFP) aging services organizations.

Credentia has created a survey to better understand and target areas of focus for the temporary nurse aide program across the state. If you have any questions, please contact Austin Cawley.

 If you were unable to attend the presentation by Community HealthChoices Managed Care Organization (MCO), PA Health and Wellness, you can view a copy of the presentation HERE. Below you will find the tools and forms needed moving forward with regard to the criteria to retain the 3% rate increase. Monthly Census Reporting Due the 5th calendar day of the following month (starting 7/5/22) Only excel files will be accepted Completed excel file should be sent to NF@pahealthwellness.com Nursing Facility Ineligible (NFI) Admit Notification Due the 7th calendar day after the nursing facility ineligible (NFI) admission Only requires submission if there has been a new NFI admission Only excel files will be accepted Completed excel file should be sent to NF@pahealthwellness.com Instructions for identifying NFI dual eligibility for both eCIS and PROMISE can be found HERE. Full reporting instructions for the Quality Incentive Program (QIP) can be found HERE and on the PA Health & Wellness website.

Decisions on Requests for Exceptions to Health Care Facility Regulations

The deadline of June 27 is fast approaching to submit your comments on the fourth package of Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH) proposed regulatory changes that includes, among other things, transitioning nurse staffing minimums to ratios that would equate with 4.1 nursing hours per patient day, as proposed in the first package, and mandating full time social workers for all nursing facilities. Use these talking points to assist with writing your comments and submit them to RA-DHLTCRegs@pa.gov before the 30-day comment period closes on June 27. If you have questions, please contact Emily Kendall at LeadingAge PA.

House Bill 2293 (HB 2293), which was introduced to require temporary nurse staffing agencies to register with DOH and set caps on the rates they can charge nursing homes, personal care homes, and assisted living residences, advanced out of the House Health Committee this week, as amended. The bill was amended by the committee to, among other things, remove the rate caps. LeadingAge PA has been advocating for appropriate rate cap protections to guard against predatory pricing practices, as well as expansion of the settings covered by the bill to ensure that it has the intended effect. While the bill as amended falls short of that goal, we will continue to engage committee staff and legislative leadership on the need to address this issue in a comprehensive manner. If you have any questions, please reach out to Legislative Director Austin Cawley at acawley@leadingagepa.org.

All Automated Clearing House (ACH) or wire transfers to the Department of Human Services (DHS) fulfilling your payment obligation for quarters 75 and 76 of the nursing home assessment program are due June 17. Failure to remit payment on time could result in DHS assessing penalties and interest. Review the important dates calendar or the nursing facility assessment webpage for more information.

CMS has updated previously issued guidance to confirm that the actual natural or man-made emergency exemption continues to apply to COVID-19. Providers who continue to operate under their emergency plans or providers who have reactivated their emergency plans related to the COVID-19 public health emergency can count these operations toward satisfying the requirements for full-scale community-based or individual facility-based functional exercises. More information on the timing of exercises and the application of the exemption is available here in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) memo. o Read this article on how the changed guidance will impact home and community-based (HCBS) providers like home health, hospice and PACE programs.