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/dailyupdates
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Provider Relief Fund Reminders
Phase 4 and ARP Rural Distributions - Payment Status
Approximately $14.5 billion of Phase 4 Payments has been distributed to more than 89,000 providers and 98 percent of applications have been processed. To date, more than $8 billion has been distributed through ARP Rural Payments and 99 percent of applications have been processed.
For the applications pending review, HRSA continues to make payments on a rolling basis every few weeks. Please continue to check the Provider Support Line at 866-569-3522; for TTY, dial 711 for status updates.
Providers should be aware that payment notifications are sent from the email address UHG_HRSA@ProviderEmail.uhc.com. Providers are advised to add this address to their “Safe Sender” list and check their “Spam” and “Junk Mail” folders regularly to ensure that they do not miss payment notifications or related correspondence.
Providers are also encouraged to check the status of their Optum Account by calling the Optum Pay Support line at 877-620-6194 to make sure the account is “active” and ready to receive payment.
Provider Relief Fund Reporting Period 3 Reminder
Reporting Period 3 (RP3) is open as of July 1, 2022. The deadline to use funds for payment RP3 was June 30, 2022.
Providers who received Provider Relief Fund (PRF) payments exceeding $10,000 in the aggregate between January 1, 2021, and June 30, 2021, are required to report in RP3. The deadline for providers to submit a report is September 30, 2022, at 11:59 PM ET.
Reports must be submitted via the PRF reporting portal. Providers who do not submit a completed report by the deadline will be subject to further enforcement actions. READ MORE
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KS-HAN New MPX Provider Resource
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) has released a provider resource for preparing, recognizing, and reporting persons with suspected cases of monkeypox virus (MPX) to public health. In addition, the resource contains the assessment questions that KDHE epidemiology will use for determining the risk of MPX as well as isolation, supportive care, and medical countermeasures (e.g. TPOXX). Refer to each document for additional information.
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2022 KHCA/KCAL Staff Recognition Program Nomination
The 2022 Staff Recognition Program is here again and this is a way for you to honor your staff and volunteers. Our yearly awards ceremony is just a small way of honoring some of the great men and women who care for the elders of our great state! The time taken from your busy schedules to fill out this nomination is very much appreciated.
Category winners will be recognized during the Staff Recognition Award Ceremony during Convention on Friday, September 30, 2022 in Mulvane, KS
Deadline for nominations is Friday, August 26, 2022!
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Weekly Member Spotlight: The Cedars - McPherson, KS
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The Cedars is the longest continuously operating, non-profit retirement community in Kansas, over 128 years. They offer 113 Independent Living duplexes, 58 Assisted Living apartments, 12 Memory Care apartments and a 54 bed Long-Term Care facility. The Cedars is a beautiful campus with a pond, walking paths, gardens, fitness center, therapy pool, putting green and banquet facilities. The Cedars employs over 140 nursing, dining, maintenance, and administrative professionals. The Vice President of Resident Services / Administrator, Tamika Atkins has been an administrator since 2016 and has served in the healthcare sector for the last 20 years. Meagan Padron is the Director of Nursing. |
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The Cedars Dining & Catering
The Cedars is excited to announce our new focus on our banquet and meeting center and catering services. The Cedars has one of the best banquet rooms in McPherson. Our event venue is perfect for business meetings, training, weddings, or reunions. We have zero-entry access to the facility for accessibility. The banquet hall can host up to 220 guests and our new chef brings the highest quality dining experience on and off our beautiful campus.
Event Venue
Our conference center is perfectly set up for any corporate event or training you have planned. We have state-of-the-art technology for presentations or training events.
Wedding venues with access to top-notch catering services can be hard to find. The Cedars Dining & Catering has a variety of room set-up options available, amazing food, and plenty of parking spaces.
Our team at The Cedars Dining and Catering is here to help make your event a success. If you're interested in learning more or getting on our schedule, contact us at 620-241-0919 ext. 116. Bring your next corporate event, training, reunion, or wedding celebration to The Cedars!
Welcome to KHCA/KCAL!
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A Message from the AHCA/NCAL President & CEO Mark Parkinson
CMS REVERSES COURSE ON PAYMENT RULE
YOU DID IT!
WHAT’S NEXT?
I usually send a mid-year update that summarizes the first half of the year and discusses what’s left. This year, our Medicare payment rule became so important, that I decided to wait until CMS released it. That happened on Friday, and the wait was worth it.
In a stunning turnaround, CMS reversed its proposed 0.7% CUT and has instead provided us a 2.7% INCREASE. Those new rates will go into effect on October 1, and last until September 30, 2023.
This much needed victory occurred for three reasons. First, we were right on the policy. While it is true that PDPM provided better than intended rates, this is not the time to fix that all at once. Too many SNFs are closing and many of those that aren’t are struggling. We convinced CMS that a phase-in of the PDPM adjustment was the right policy.
Second, our members demanded change. AHCA orchestrated a grassroots campaign, and you responded. CMS received 6,920 comments. These were not form letters. They were unique letters that explained the reality in our buildings right now. CMS has received more form letters on topics before, but I’m confident it has never received anything close to 6,920 unique comments on any topic. It mattered. In the rule itself, CMS noted “put the language in that discusses the input received.”
Finally, our political support mattered. At Congressional Briefing, we had 500 members assemble from across the country, and they convinced scores of members of Congress to contact the White House, HHS, and CMS on this topic. We supported bipartisan letters from Congress that garnered 22 senators and 18 representatives from the House asking the Administration to reverse the cut. And we had the support of Democratic leadership at every level who made calls on our behalf.
The result is needed and well deserved. It happened because thousands of administrators, DON’s, regional and corporate staff, and in some cases, CNAs got involved and made our case.
THERE IS MORE TO DO
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Focus F-Tag of the Week
Each week through October, AHCA will be focusing on a particular F-tag(s) to help providers break down the Phase 2 updates and Phase 3 new guidance.
§483.85 Compliance and Ethics – F895
Nursing facilities participating in Medicare and Medicaid have been required to have a compliance and ethics program since March 23, 2013, under the Affordable Care Act. However, there was no regulatory mechanism to enforce the requirement until CMS issued their revised 2016 Requirements of Participation. The revision included the requirements for the compliance and ethics program at §483.85. Survey enforcement of these standards was delayed due to the pandemic, but will begin on October 24, 2022.
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Semmelweis Times, a newsletter from the KDHE HAI/AR Program
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A Message from AHCA/NCAL - Inspirational Video Submissions Needed
Dear AHCA/NCAL Members,
This year at our annual Convention, we want to feature YOU and share why you love what you do. We will be creating a compilation video that features our heroic caregivers. If you are interested in being highlighted during our Convention, please submit a video of yourself answering the question:
- What inspires you about your work in long term care?
Please submit your video using this form, and make sure your video is no more than 1 minute. Indicate in the submission your name, job title, and organization. Don’t be afraid to be creative! 😊
Not sure what we’re looking for? You can see a sample video here (but make it your own!).
We appreciate all that you do and look forward to celebrating with you in October.
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The Long Term Care Survey manual, Phase 3 is now available for pre-order!
Order your copy today for October delivery.*
Phase 3 of The Long Term Care Survey manual includes all the updates from CMS' three-phase implementation.
Survey guidance for Phase 3 was released in June 2022. Surveyors will begin using this guidance on October 24, 2022.
Save money by ordering through KHCA!
Learn more about updates to this important resource and place your order today! E-mail Jennafer Sumner with desired quantity.
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Person-Centered Dementia Care...From the Perspective of the Resident Lunch & Learn
This Lunch and Learn course includes the common framework and the stages of Dementia with a focus on improving the quality of care for individuals with dementia living in Long Term Care communities including Skilled Nursing, Assisted Living, and Home Plus settings. Presented by Linda Farrar, RN, LNHA this course will look at how care partners can approach prevention and de-escalation of challenging behaviors and will help you to intervene when behavior escalates. You will know how to recognize, respond and calm the individual using non-pharmacological approaches.
This course is limited to 45 attendees.
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Webinar: Dynamic DON Series: Risk Management
8/10/2022 1:30PM-2:30PM
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Webinar: The Proficient Infection Preventionist Series: Insightful Root Cause Analysis for the Infection Preventionist
8/16/2022 1:30PM-2:30PM
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Webinar: Dynamic DON Series: QAPI
8/17/2022 1:30PM-2:30PM
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Webinar: Dynamic DON Series: HR Management
8/24/2022 1:30PM-2:30PM
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Webinar: Dynamic DON Series: Survey Readiness
8/31/2022 1:30PM-2:30PM
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Person-Centered Dementia Care...From the Perspective of the Resident Lunch & Learn
8/31/2022 10AM-3PM
Olathe, KS
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Looking for options for required Staff In-Service?
KHCA’s online learning platform is BACK! We’ve loaded the in-services for SNF and for AL first. Many more education sessions to come.
Questions about education can be directed to Polly Berkley VP of Operations and Education.
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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
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