March 24, 2022
KHCA/KCAL is committed to providing our members with important updates. Below is a list of the most recent information. Please visit our website for a list of complete updates. www.khca.org/covid-19-resources
The Latest News
Call for Data
Professional Liability Benchmark Report for Senior Living and Long-Term Care Providers

Marsh’s Senior Living & LTC Industry Practice and Oliver Wyman’s Actuarial Practice are conducting a 2022 update to and expansion of their General and Professional Liability Benchmark Report for Senior Living and Long-Term Care Providers. AHCA/NCAL has partnered again this year with Marsh and Oliver Wyman and other leading national trade organizations including the American Seniors Housing Association, Argentum, and LeadingAge.​

The information presented in this study is critical information for industry stakeholders interested in understanding important trends, loss drivers and other factors impacting resident care and quality. Included in this review will be an estimation of countrywide and state-specific trends separately for claim costs, severity, and frequency; an estimation of countrywide and state-specific claim costs; an examination of the relationship between indemnity costs compared to expense costs; and an analysis of the cause of loss descriptions. Especially relevant for 2022 will be the effect that the pandemic has had on losses.

We hope you will consider participating in this benchmark study in order to enhance the quality of this initiative. 

The information Marsh and Oliver Wyman are collecting includes: 
  • Individual claim listing (excluding Protected Health Information) in Excel-readable format including as much detail as possible, valued as 12/31/2021. Please include claim information for the last 10 calendar years, if available.
  • Occupied unit equivalent exposure information for the past 10 calendar years, if available.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE
As the 2022 study kicks off, we welcome and would appreciate your participation for the upcoming analysis. Upon data submission we will provide diagnostic information about your own data including various metrics, e.g., frequency and severity claim statistics; closing year, report year, and accident year statistics; open and closed claim statistics; and an exposure analysis. We will review the diagnostics and contact you to discuss any high-level observations or data anomalies.

There is no cost to participate, and all participants will receive a copy of the report and an invitation to the presentation of the results. We only ask for your assistance in obtaining the necessary data. 

If you’re interested in participating, please contact Oliver Wyman regarding the data collection process or with any additional questions at LTCBenchmark@oliverwyman.com.
In Case You Missed It
Senate Bill 453 “Open the CNA training pipeline”

The House sent an amended version of SB 453 to the Senate for a Concur or Not-concur vote. The Senate did not accept the amendments added by the House. A conference committee has been formed to hammer out the differences between the two chambers. The Senate appointed to the committee Senators Hildenbrand, Gossage and Pettey. The House appointed Representatives Landwehr, Eplee and Ruiz. At this time, the conference committee time and date has not been set. The Legislature is recessed until Monday, March 28, 2022. We will keep you informed of further progress.
Attn All Performing testing for COVID-19 under a CLIA Waiver

Beginning April 4, 2022, COVID-19 testing facilities that test under a CLIA certificate of waiver are no longer required to report NEGATIVE results for tests authorized for use under a CLIA certificate of waiver. Click here to view complete memo from KDHE.
SHIELDS UP
 
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could impact organizations both within and beyond the region, to include malicious cyber activity against the U.S. homeland, including as a response to the unprecedented economic costs imposed on Russia by the U.S. and our allies and partners. Evolving intelligence indicates that the Russian Government is exploring options for potential cyberattacks. Every organization—large and small—must be prepared to respond to disruptive cyber incidents. As the nation’s cyber defense agency, CISA stands ready to help organizations prepare for, respond to, and mitigate the impact of cyberattacks. When cyber incidents are reported quickly, we can use this information to render assistance and as warning to prevent other organizations and entities from falling victim to a similar attack. To read more, click here.
Providers may face emergency if PHE ends prematurely: AHCA

An extension of the COVID-19 public health emergency declaration through the end of 2022 is critical to ensure long-term care providers have the necessary resources to respond to the ongoing crisis, the leader of the nation’s largest nursing home association said Tuesday. 

The current PHE declaration is set to expire April 16. Federal policy only allows the Department of Health and Human Services to extend it for 90 days at a time. HHS leadership has previously said states would receive a 60 day notice prior to the expiration of the PHE. 

Extending the declaration through 2022 would allow long-term and post-acute care providers to continue offering the most “efficient and effective care possible” to seniors, argued Mark Parkinson, president and CEO of the American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living. READ MORE
From the Office of the State Fire Marshal

Emergency Door Release click here for more details.
AHCA/NCAL Asks Becerra To Extend COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Through 2022

McKnight’s Long-Term Care News (3/23, Brown) reports Mark Parkinson, president and CEO of the American Health Care Association / National Center for Assisted Living, advocated for the extension of the COVID-19 public health emergency declaration through the end of 2022 in a Tuesday letter to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. Parkinson said that the "PHE ensures our health care system, including long-term care, has the policies and resources it needs to address this ongoing pandemic," warning that "now is not the time to let crucial supports and flexibilities necessary to combat the virus end." Also, Parkinson "urged the federal government to prioritize long-term care for access to urgently needed resources, like COVID-19 testing and treatments, in addition to extending the emergency designation."

McKnight’s Senior Living (3/23, Bowers) reports the "current public health emergency is set to expire April 16." Though it has been renewed for 90-day periods eight times, Parkinson insists that it should be extended through the rest of the year to ensure providers "can continue to offer the most efficient and effective care possible to our nation’s most vulnerable population." 
Provider Relief Fund Updates: Phase 4 Awards Continue and Reporting Period 1 Challenges

HRSA announced it is making more than $413 million in Provider Relief Fund Phase 4 General Distribution payments to more than 3,600 providers across the country this week. Providers would have received an email notification on March 21 if their application was among those processed in this latest batch. HRSA is working to review all remaining applications as quickly as possible and anticipates another round of Phase 4 to be released in late April or early May. 
More information: 

  • ​HHS updated the state-by-state table detailing all Phase 4 payments made to date.
  • As individual providers agree to the terms and conditions of Phase 4 payments, it will be reflected on the public dataset. 

If you have neither received your Phase 4 award nor a No Pay Letter, your Phase 4 payment likely is still in manual review.
Free Charting the LifeCourse Framework Learning Opportunities

Join KDADS HCBS-KS to learn about the Charting the LifeCourse Framework. Understand how it can support individuals planning for a good life.
You will learn about tools for every life stage to improve a person-centered approach to planning. These tools help you plan, problem solve and address all areas of a person’s life.

Click here for more details.
Active Shooter Preparedness Webinar - April 14, 2022 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM 

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Region 7, (Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska) invites you to join a two-hour security webinar to enhance awareness of and response to an active shooter event.
 
Preparing employees for a potential active shooter incident is an integral component of an organization’s incident response planning. Because active shooter incidents are unpredictable and evolve quickly, preparing for and knowing what to do in an active shooter situation can be the difference between life and death. Every second counts.

Click here for more details.
Call for Presentations

An essential service to our association is offering high quality training and education to our members. We invite you to join us in our commitment to delivering timely, relevant, and engaging information as we prepare for our 2022 Nurse Leadership Conference (June) and Annual Convention (September).

We are looking for topics that fit skilled nursing, assisted living, home plus and residential health care communities.

Click here to learn more on our needs and how you can submit a proposal.
Education Spotlight
ICD-10 Coding Workshop (2 days in person)

Lawrence, KS
3/29- 3/30/2022
8AM - 5PM
14 CEs!!

Diagnosis coding accuracy is paramount to appropriate payment under PDPM, as ICD-10 Diagnosis codes & other patient characteristics are used as basis for classification in determining MCR payment. The 5-day MDS establishes the PDPM payment category for the entire Medicare stay which is why it is so important to have good processes in place for establishing the principal diagnosis and having information to support coding all active diagnosis prior to the 5-day assessment reference date.

This program will include information regarding the Official ICD-10 Coding Guidelines, best practices for accurate ICD-10-CM code assignment, how to avoid common coding mistakes, and the importance of principal diagnosis identification.
Upcoming Education
ICD-10 Coding Workshop (in person)

3/29 - 3/30/2022
Lawrence, KS
KCAL Assisted Living Conference (in person)

4/5/22 from 8:30AM - 5:00PM
Lawrence, KS
Webinar: Survey Top 10 Citation Series - Survey Success! Avoiding Top Citations. #3 Top Citation: F761 Label/Store Drugs & Biologicals

4/5/22 from 1:30PM - 2:30PM
Webinar: Restorative Nursing Series: Restorative Nursing Overview (Part 1)

4/7/22 from 1:00PM - 2:15PM
Webinar: Restorative Nursing Series: Bowel Bladder, Dining, Communication & Cognition (Part 2)

4/14/22 from 1:00PM - 2:15PM
The AHCA/NCAL Quality Summit is Back! Registration Now Open!
Quality Summit will be held in Kissimmee, FL, May 16-18.
This year’s AHCA/NCAL Quality Summit delivers three days of education programs and awesome networking opportunities with like-minded, quality professionals in long term and post-acute care. The Quality Summit offers 30 sessions topics focused on leadership, recruitment and retention, infection prevention and PDPM. 

Click here for more details.
Kansas Health Care Association and the Kansas Center for Assisted Living
1100 SW Gage Blvd. | PO Box 4770 | Topeka, KS 66604
PH: 785-267-6003 FAX: 785-267-0833