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A Message From Eric Essley
CMS Administrator Seema Verma announced late yesterday afternoon that CMS will not move forward with the proposed Medicaid Fiscal Accountability Regulation (MFAR). This is a huge advocacy win for LeadingAge National, all the state LeadingAge chapters, and all the national and state long-term trade and hospital associations across the country. We very much appreciate the hard work of our membership on this issue over the last year as well. Congratulations on this victory!
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LeadingAge National Annual Meeting Early Registration Discount Ends Today. Don’t forget to take advantage of the special registration discounts when you register today, September 15. View the program and get your discounted registration.
- Provider Relief Fund extends deadline to September 21 (for now) for private pay assisted living and nursing home providers.
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The US Department of Labor DOL Limits Definition of “Health Care” Employee. In response to the federal court ruling in August striking several provisions in the Labor Department regulation on implementation of the paid sick leave and FMLA provisions, DOL will issue a revised rule on September 16, effective immediately. The major change is a limitation on which employees may be excluded from the paid leave provisions, which means that all employers, including health care employers, are subject to at least portions of the policy. The types of “health care employers” covered by the exemptions to the rule have not changed (nursing homes, retirement communities, home health, etc.).
- Employees who are no longer exempt or excluded from paid leave are “Individuals who provide services that affect, but are not integrated into, the provision of patient care …, because employees who do not provide health care services … are not health care providers. … The Department identifies information technology (IT) professionals, building maintenance staff, human resources personnel, cooks, food service workers, records managers, consultants, and billers” as examples of employees who are not exempt.
- Employees who provide “diagnostic, preventive, treatment services, or other services that are integrated with and necessary to the provision of
- Patient care are health care providers.” This includes professionals like doctors, nurses, nursing assistants, but may also include non-professionals who provide “for example, bathing, dressing, hand feeding, taking vital signs, setting up medical equipment for procedures, and transporting patients and samples. These tasks must be integrated and necessary to the provision of patient care, which significantly limits this category.”
- An updated FAQ will be issued soon. Members are advised to consult with their HR and legal departments to adapt to these changes.
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Forward This Update to Co-Workers |
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