TESTING

New Testing Mandate May Cause KDADS to Re-Examine Their Stance on Surveyor Testing
Members have been asking if they can, as a matter of their own facility policy, use their new antigen testing machines to test visitors, including surveyors, as part of their routine at-the-door COVID-19 screening procedure. The question has been posed to KDADS and we are awaiting a written communication, which we will share as soon as we get it.

KDADS Going to Bat on Positivity Rates
In last Friday’s meeting with nursing home stakeholders, KDADS officials indicated that they are planning to issue a communication to accept use of county positivity rates that are reported under the School Gating Metrics button on the KDHE COVID-19 website. No formal communication has been developed as of this date. Stay tuned.

Have you Sent Your Message on Testing to CMS, Members of Congress and the President, Yet?
Last month the LeadingAge Kansas Board of Directors voted to oppose the new COVID-19 testing mandates from CMS. LeadingAge Kansas launched a Call to Action to contact the Kansas congressional delegation as well as President Donald Trump explaining why nursing homes in Kansas oppose mandatory surveillance testing for staff.

Here is a sample message for you to customize with your unique information. Once completed, you can submit your message to:

And US Representative that represents your District:

Also – Send Your Nursing Home Testing Mandate Comments to CMS by Nov. 2

Send your comments on the new CMS rule, that includes the new testing mandate, to CMS no later than 4PM Central Time on November 2, 2020.  Volume of comments and specificity within comments will be important to demonstrate to CMS the serious concerns among nursing home care providers.

How to submit comments:

  1. Electronically to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the “Submit a comment” instructions. OR
  2. By regular mail to the following address ONLY: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Department of Health and Human Services, Attention: CMS-3401-IFC, P.O. Box 8016, Baltimore, MD 21244-8016.  (Please allow sufficient time for snail-mailed comments to be received before the close of the comment period, 4 PM Central time, November 2, 2020. With federal mail screening this could take several weeks.) OR
  3. By express or overnight mail to the following address ONLY: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Department of Health and Human Services, Attention: CMS-3401-IFC, Mail Stop C4-26-05, 7500 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21244-1850.

Tips for Writing Your Comments
Your comments should not only include your general reasons for opposition, but it is also VERY IMPORTANT to include individualized impacts such as:

  • Number of staff and residents
  • If staff have actually quit because of the testing rule (number, percentage, your vacancy rate, reasons they say they quit)
  • Cost in terms of labor and supplies – Number of labor hours it takes to complete one round of testing, how many rounds you are being required to perform right now, where you are getting the staff to do testing (ex. are you having to shift them from other duties), dollars associated with labor (make sure to include staff wait time before they begin their assigned shift), hard costs in dollars for supplies
  • Whether the CARES Act Provider Relief funds you have received will cover the cost of this new requirement (or how much of the cost will NOT be covered by the CARES Act provider Relief Funds you have received.)
  • Questions you have that are not clearly addressed in the rule or guidance at QSO-20-38

Please cc your comments to Dana and Jeyigor@leadingage.org 

LEADINGAGE KANSAS

Don’t Forget to Sign Up for our Friday Webinars
Here is the link to register and we look forward to seeing you all on Friday.

Updated Testing Q & A Tool
More testing questions have been added to the Testing Q & A tool.  If you have additional questions or suggestions for the tool, please let Dana Weaver know.

FEDERAL

CMS Flowchart on Payment for COVID-19 Testing
CMS released a flowchart and documents today to help make sense of coverage for COVID-19 resident testing. The documents address Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance, and uninsured. They also offer a cheat sheet on additional funding (CARES Act funding and Provider Relief Funds) and info on Medicare coding and billing.

CDC Testing Resource Guide for Nursing Homes
CDC created a testing resource guide, compiling links that nursing homes might find useful in navigating the ever-confusing world of COVID testing in nursing homes. Highlights: several links from CDC for conducting testing in nursing homes, a link to CMS info on CLIA reporting requirements, and a link to the FDA FAQs on testing, among many many others. Great resource to have everything in one place!

CMS Visitor Guidance
As promised, here is a more detailed explanation of the revised CMS Visitor Guidance issued yesterday evening.

Abbott BinaxNOW Seminar
Abbott offered a BinaxNOW Webinar for Assisted Living Facilities this afternoon. HHS has purchased 150 million BinaxNOW tests and is shipping them to assisted living centers and also nursing homes in high risk counties. These tests do not require machines and return results within 15 minutes, but do require a CLIA waiver. Dr. Nimalie Stone from the CDC reviewed the basics of infection prevention in assisted living. Abbott will post the link to the webinar and is offering training to providers. Read a summary of the webinar.

Save the date.  Training with Quidel Experts on Sofia COVID-19 Testing on Thursday, September 24 at 3:00 PM Eastern. We will partner with Quidel to offer a LeadingAge exclusive training on the Quidel Sofia analyzers.  As with the BD Veritor training, Quidel trainers will demonstrate how to use the machine, provide details on batch testing, and answer member questions.  Jodi and Janine will be on hand to answer member questions about the CMS Interim Final Rule and other topics.  Register for the training.  

Today is the Provider Relief Deadline for Private Pay Only AL and Nursing Homes. The deadline for private pay-only licensed assisted living providers and nursing homes to apply for Provider Relief Funds is today close of business day (typically, this has meant 10:59 p.m. Central time). Learn more about the extension.

Other Federal Information

STATE  

COVID-19 Update from KDHE
The Monday, September 21st COVID-19 updateis now available on the KDHE website. 600 COVID-19 related deaths to date in Kansas, 286 of which have been in LTC.

Nursing Homes: Send Attestation Form in to Receive State-Allocated Provider Relief Funds
As of last Friday, 176 Kansas nursing homes had sent in their attestation forms in order to receive the $19.54 prd X 120 days in provider relief funds allocated through the state. If you haven’t sent your attestation form in, do so now. If you do not intend to accept this funding, send an email to Georgianna.correll@ks.gov.

LEADINGAGE NATIONAL UPDATE

Join Us for a National Day of Action This Wednesday
With negotiations stalled on the next coronavirus relief package, we need Congress to act for older adults before they leave Washington, DC. The “Act For Older Adults” campaign is rallying Americans from all walks of life to add their voice to ours. Join us this Wednesday, for a National Day of Action for aging services providers. Look for an Action Alert that will make it easy for you, your staff, and residents to send emails or make phone calls asking for essential relief for aging services providers. You can also use these pre-drafted posts on your own social media platforms.

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Nicole Schings
Nicole Schings is the Director of Member Services and Business Development. Nicole joined the association in 2018, and oversees our Member Services program, our Partnership and Associate Member relationships, and our online education system. A graduate of Washburn University, Nicole uses her 22 years of experience in the association world to enhance the support of our members, problem solve their issues and bring new partners into the LeadingAge Kansas family. Outside of work, Nicole is passionate about geocaching and moments spent with her dog, Blu. You can reach Nicole directly at 785.670.8048.

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