April 6, 2022

CHC VIRTUAL CLASSROOM SOFTWARE UPDATE The online Virtual Classroom fully operational and experiencing minor issues that are corrected immediately after an item is identified. Tech support continue to provide help immediately during office hours with slight delays when contacted after hours. This additional customer service will continue through the first one-half of 2022. PURCHASE HERE www.homehealthcerts.com (loaded directly into the User account) 2022 Users are those who make purchases in 2022 using www.homehealthcerts.com (purchases made in 2022) 2021 Users are those who made purchases in 2021. Please go to www.COAdmin.us for completion of all courses. Download all certificates as Accounts automatically close after course completion. Course updates or revisions are in progress using regulatory changes published for 6 CCR 1011-1, Chapter 26. Non-medical HCBS policies and procedures with updated regulations are now available (see below). Skilled policies and procedures remain in edit mode. Non-medical, licensure-only policies and procedures are in edit mode now. Administrators and Managers from all agencies have been very helpful, patient and understanding during this transition. We are so grateful for everyone's willingness to engage kindly throughout this process.

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CONSUMER RIGHTS Consumer rights touch every aspect of the provision of home care. There are now rules to help protect people from surprise medical bills and remove consumers from payment disputes between a provider or health care facility and their home care visit. In 2020, the Colorado No Surprises Act went into effect. It prohibits providers from sending balance bills to consumers (C.R.S 12-30-113). The federal No Surprises Act went into effect on January 1, 2022 and applies to self funded and fully insured plans. Both laws protect consumers from surprise out of network bills. Surprise billing happens when a patient receives an unexpected balance bill after they receive care from an out-of-network provider or at an out-of-network facility, such as a hospital. It can happen for both emergency and non-emergency care. Typically, patients don’t know the provider or facility is out-of-network until they receive the bill. Balance billing happens when a health care provider (a doctor, for example) bills a patient after the patient’s health insurance company has paid its share of the bill. The balance bill is for the difference between the provider’s charge and the price the insurance company set, after the patient has paid any copays, coinsurance, or deductibles. Learn more about the Colorado rule and the federal rule. ANOTHER CONSUMER PROTECTION ADDED The Client Care Advocate role described in 6 CCR 1011-1, Chapter 2, is another rule in effect to help protect people from communication gaps and get fully educated about their care and treatment. Think about it -- doesn't everyone need an advocate in health care today to truly understand and be involved in their own care? The Client Care Advocate will provide for that and much more (see below).

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GOVERNING BODY RESPONSIBILITY AND POLICIES AND PROCEDURES A common cause of deficient practice by the governing body is failure to assume responsibility for the agency's policies and procedures which describe and direct its functions. The governing body must review all of the agency's written policies at least annually and make revisions as necessary to keep the policies current and specific to the agency.

Non-medical HCA Policy and Procedure Manuals Now Available with 2022 Updates

PURCHASE NON-MEDICAL HCBS POLICY AND PROCEDURE MANUAL

PURCHASE  IHSS WITH NON-MEDICAL POLICY AND PROCEDURE MANUAL

PURCHASE  LICENSURE WITH HCBS NON-MEDICAL POLICY AND PROCEDURE MANUAL

Purchasers will receive personal instruction pertaining to the updated material directly from Laura Neill

Non-Compete Agreements Home Care Agency policy frequently requires staff to sign non-compete agreements or restrictive covenants. Non-compete agreements had a place in home care rules and regulations as written in 6 CCR 1011-1, Chapter 6. Readers may recall item 6.8 contained the following language:   Non-compete agreements (A)            An HCA shall not coerce, threaten, or use any means of intimidation to prevent an employee from terminating the employment relationship and commencing employment at another HCA. (B)            Non–compete clauses, agreements or contracts shall only be enforceable in accordance with Section 8-2-113, C.R.S.  Although the language has been removed from Chapter 26 in the most recent update, it is important to review it to understand limitations on non-compete agreements and their enforcement. In addition, last August, President Biden signed executive Order “Promoting Competition in the American Economy.” Specifically, the executive order requests the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to “ban or limit” non-compete agreements all together. Home Care News reports that as the home care staffing shortage continues and the demand for home care increases, restrictive agreements will only become more common. Lastly, all eyes are on the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in its first criminal trial for labor-related antitrust violations. The DOJ prosecutors in the case allege that DaVita and former DaVita CEO Kent Thiry established "non-solicitation agreements" with the CEOs of competing companies to not recruit employees away from each other, according to the Denver Business Journal. How can you protect your agency? Learn more about this topic and a few general areas that deserve providers’ attention.

Thank you for reading!

connie@chctrain.com ~ (303) 548-4310 www.homehealthcerts.com ~ www.getcompliant.us