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Virtual Spring Conference Live Session Schedule:
Watch the recorded webinar "A Panel Discussion of Cyber Security Issues Impacting Our Senior Communities" with Pat LeMire (M3 Insurance), Don Glidewell (ThinkAnew), Paul Johnson (Wipfli), and Peter Kujawa (Locknet - An EO Johnson Company). This Panel Discussion also talks about the cyber security issues that have risen during COVID-19.
A
LIVE
Q&A session will be held on May 28 at 10:00-11:00 a.m.
Don’t worry, if you are unable to attend a live session, it will be recorded and added as an on-demand session, that you may view in accordance with your own schedule.
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COVID-19 Updates: May 21, 2020
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This update includes:
- Governor Evers Announces $100 Million for Long-Term Care, Home and Community Based Services, and Emergency Medical Services
- HHS Announces SNF-Specific Tranche, $50,000 per Facility and $2,000 per Bed
- CMS Issues QSO-20-29-NH and QSO-20-30-NH
- CARES Act Provider Relief Fund CHOW FAQs
- Upcoming Webinar Next Week! The Advantages of PEAL/WCCEAL
- Revised OSHA Policies
- COVID-19 FAQs Updated: ACO Section
- Assembly Majority Leader Sends Letter to Governor Evers, Urges Funding for LTC
- Bureau of Assisted Living Regulatory Response to COVID-19 – Assisted Living Forum Tuesday, May 26, 2020
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As of today, there are 13,885 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state of Wisconsin and 487 deaths caused by the virus. Click
HERE
to view the latest outbreak information from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Click
HERE
to view COVID-19 projections for Wisconsin and the United States.
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Governor Evers Announces $100 Million for Long-Term Care, Home and Community Based Services, and Emergency Medical Services
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In a
press release today, Governor Tony Evers anno
unced that a grant program funded by the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Totaling $100 million dollars, the funding will support long-term care facilities (both skilled nursing and assisted living facilities), home and community-based services, and emergency medical services.
“We recognize the significant burden the COVID-19 response has placed on these providers,” said Evers in the press release. “We also recognize the integral role they play in ensuring the health and safety of some of our most vulnerable Wisconsinites and we want to support their efforts during this pandemic.”
The program will be administered in two parts: an initial release of funds to support immediate needs, and a second, targeted release for additional needs of individual providers. Both rounds of funding will be allocated to support expenses directly related to COVID-19 as well as expenses associated with the interruption of typical operations, such as overtime pay, changes to sanitation procedures, and disruption to the standard delivery of care.
“Long-term care providers thank Governor Evers for funding a grant program targeted at skilled nursing and assisted living facilities in Wisconsin,” said John Vander Meer, President and CEO of WHCA/WiCAL. "We look forward to continuing to work with administration to secure more funding for the long-term care provider community."
WHCA/WiCAL was briefed on this package by officials from the administration last night. The funding is expected to be allocated on June 1. There is expected to be an additional round of funding associated with the grant.
This funding, which includes assisted living facilities, is separate from the $11.5 million increase in Direct Care Workforce Funding that was
announced earlier this week
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The Department of Health Services will be releasing additional information in the days to come. Please stay tuned to the daily updates for more information.
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HHS Announces SNF-Specific Tranche, $50,000 per Facility and $2,000 per Bed
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WHCA/WiCAL has learned that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has contacted providers via email today notifying them about a SNF-specific tranche of relief fund monies. Each skilled nursing facility will receive a fixed distribution of $50,000, plus a variable distribution of $2,000 or more per facility bed. These funds will be sent via ACH and will say “CARES Act SNF Pmt*HHS.GOV” in the payment description. WHCA/WiCAL and AHCA/NCAL anticipate that assisted living providers receiving Medicaid will be receiving payments from HHS as well in the near future.
The notice to providers indicates that payments will be based off of the following formula: $50,000 per SNF plus a per bed amount ranging from $1800 per bed for those with more than 200 beds up to $2000 for SNFs with 5-25 beds. Providers will again have 45 days from when the payment is received to accept or reject the payments and corresponding terms and conditions through the attestation portal. Once posted, providers should read the terms and conditions carefully as they may differ from prior PRF terms and conditions.
Stay tuned to WHCA/WiCAL member announcements for forthcoming developments.
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CMS Issues QSO-20-29-NH and QSO-20-30-NH
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The memo states that fail to report in accordance with 42 CFR §483.80(g) can result in an enforcement action. As a reminder, CMS indicates that facilities must submit their first set of data by 11:59 p.m. Sunday, May 17, 2020. CMS will begin posting data from the CDC National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) for viewing by facilities, stakeholders, or the general public. The COVID-19 public use file will be available on
https://data.cms.gov/. The memo includes updated COVID-19 focus survey forms and regulatory tags.
- Criteria for relaxing certain restrictions and mitigating the risk of resurgence: Factors to inform decisions for relaxing nursing home restrictions through a phased approach.
- Visitation and Service Considerations: Considerations allowing visitation and services in each phase.
- Restoration of Survey Activities: Recommendations for restarting certain surveys in each phase.
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CARES Act Provider Relief Fund CHOW FAQs
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The four CHOW FAQs are:
- Can an organization that sold its only practice or facility under a change in ownership in 2019 and is no longer providing services, accept payment and transfer it to the new owner?
- If the current TIN owner has not yet received any payment from the Provider Relief Fund, it may still receive funds in other distributions. Can a provider that purchased a TIN in 2019 accept a Provider Relief Fund payment from a previous owner and complete the attestation for the Terms and Conditions?
- If, as a result of the sale of a practice/hospital, the TIN that received a General Distribution payment is no longer providing health care services as of January 31, 2020, is it required to return the General Distribution payment?
- How does the organization account for these acquisitions when submitting revenue information in the Payment Portal?
The UnitedHealth Group CARES Provider Hotline has given guidance that does not align with the FAQs. AHCA/NCAL has requested clarification on how to address action steps already taken related to CHOWs based on Hotline Guidance as well as a list of other questions to HHS.
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Upcoming Webinar Next Week! The Advantages of PEAL/WCCEAL
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The WHCA/WiCAL Virtual Spring Conference will be holding a webinar on Wednesday, May 27 on the Advantages of PEAL/WCCEAL. We will be allowing WiCAL members who have not signed up for the virtual conference to attend this session. Pat Boyer, WHCA/WiCAL Director of Education and Quality Advancement, will be doing a Q&A session at the conclusion of the webinar.
WHEN: May 27, 2020
TIME: 12:30-1:30 p.m. CST
COST: Free
Webinar registration closes
tomorrow, Friday, May 22. If you are not already an attendee of the WHCA/WiCAL Virtual Spring Conference, click
HERE to register.
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The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has adopted
revised policies for enforcing OSHA’s COVID-19 requirements, which will become effective May 26, 2020. The
previous memorandum will be rescinded.
OSHA is increasing in-person inspections at all types of workplaces. In geographic areas with sustained elevated community transmission or a resurgence, OSHA will prioritize on-site inspections for high-risk workplaces, such as health care providers treating patients with COVID-19.
OSHA is also revising its previous enforcement policy for recording cases of COVID-19. Under OSHA’s recordkeeping requirements, COVID-19 is a recordable illness. Employers are responsible for recording cases of COVID-19 if the case:
Under the new policy issued, OSHA will enforce
recordkeeping requirements for employee COVID-19 illnesses for all employers. OSHA acknowledges the difficulty in determining whether a COVID-19 illness is work-related, especially when an employee has experienced potential exposure both in and out of the workplace. OSHA’s guidance emphasizes that employers must make reasonable efforts, based on the evidence available to the employer, to determine whether it would be considered work-related.
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COVID-19 FAQs Updated: ACO Section
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The ACO section included an updated question (pg. 40, question #6) around the length of time a Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) ACO would be responsible for shared losses with the trigger of the Extreme and Uncontrollable Circumstances Policy.
CMS’ response includes an example and explains that ACOS in performance-based risk tracks for 2020 would only be responsible for incurred losses for the time period prior to or after the COVID-10 Public Health Emergency (PHE).
The rest of the FAQs are around the MIPS program and beneficiary notifications. With regards to beneficiary notifications CMS continues to allow notifications through email, secure portal or mail and has relaxed its timely notification policy as long as the beneficiary notification is completed by the end of the performance year.
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Assembly Majority Sends Letter to Governor Evers, Urges Funding for LTC
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Earlier today, Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke sent a
letter to Governor Evers urging him to support long-term care facilities.
"Our long-term care facilities – the facilities housing our moms, dads, grandparents, and loved ones – need our help," said Steineke. "As the person solely in charge of allocating our federal dollars to the places they’re most needed, I urge you (Evers) to do your job in addressing the mounting needs our elderly care facilities are facing."
Later today, Governor Evers announced $100 million grant program funded by the CARES Act which targets long-term care providers, home and community-based services, and emergency medical services. For more information, please read the top story in today's update.
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Bureau of Assisted Living Regulatory Response to COVID-19 – Assisted Living Forum Tuesday, May 26, 2020
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Assisted living providers and stakeholders are invited to attend our Assisted Living Forum. During this time, Bureau of Assisted Living will provide answers to questions related to COVID-19 and assisted living facilities.
This session is conducted on Tuesdays from 10:00-11:30 a.m. until further notice. Please join on Tuesday, May 26, 2020.
To Join:
Or by Phone: +1 312 626 6799
Please use the question & answer (Q&A) feature within the Zoom meeting room to submit questions during the forum. Questions related to funding should be submitted to the Managed Care Organizations or Division of Medicaid Services.
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Pat Boyer, MSM, RN, NHA
| Director of Quality Advancement and Education |
pat@whcawical.org
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Business Partner Spotlight
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The food service team at Martin Bros. is the most experienced in the region, staffed with professionals and specialists who deliver the very best in food products, restaurant supplies, chef supplies and more. We take the time to truly understand your organization’s unique needs, and continuously focus on helping you reach your goals and meet the demands of your business, your staff, and customers.
For more than 75 years, it’s been the talent and hard work of our experienced team who has allowed us to become such a trusted leader in the food service wholesale field. We deliver unparalleled personal attention, whether you’re managing a restaurant, school, university, healthcare facility, convenience store, hotel, or casino.
CONTACT:
Martin Bros. Distributing
For the complete listing of WHCA/WiCAL Gold Business Partners, click
HERE
!
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