Restart of Free COVID Tests Mailed to Household
Beginning September 25th, every U.S. household can again place an order to receive four more free COVID-19 rapid tests delivered directly to their home. Starting September 25th, the free tests can be ordered via...
Straightening Out Vaccine Coverage Confusion
Guests from Omnicare/CVS on LeadingAge’s member call addressed a number of issues related to COVID, flu, and RSV vaccines. In particular, they offered a quick primer on coverage. More details will be addressed related...
HHS Posts Staff Contingency Plan for Potential Shutdown
On September 21st, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released an updated contingency plan for a potential government shutdown beginning October 1st. According to the plan, the agency expects to furlough about...
CAHPS Hospice Survey Quality Assurance Guide Updated
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released an updated CAHPS Hospice Survey Quality Assurance Guide. The manual was created to standardize the survey data collection process and to ensure comparability of data...
Hospice Members: LeadingAge Needs Your Help Identifying Auditor Denial Issues
LeadingAge, along with the three other national hospice associations (the National Association for Home Care and Hospice, the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, and the National Partnership for Healthcare Innovation), are partnering to...
Coalition Letter on Observation Stays Sent to Congress
On September 18th, LeadingAge joined a broad coalition of health care providers and advocates in sending letters to two Congressional Committees expressing support for the re-introduction and passage of H.R. 5138, the Improving Access...
WiFi Access in Nursing Homes
CMS is assessing access to WiFi in nursing homes. They consider WiFi for residents a basic standard of convenience and comfort that any individual could expect in their home and are therefore considering ways...
Oral Health in Nursing Home Residents Under Scrutiny
CMS published a paper in JAMA Network OPEN on September 12th analyzing oral health problems among Medicare beneficiaries living in nursing homes. CMS contends that the study highlights “the need for targeted interventions that...
CMS Announces Updates to Care Compare Staffing and Quality Measures
CMS released memo QSO-23-21-NH on September 20th that outlines changes to Care Compare coming with the April 2024 refresh. The changes are largely due to the October 1st implementation of the new Minimum Data...
CMP Reinvestment Program is Back
CMS has unfrozen the CMP Reinvestment Program, but the months-long review has led to a few changes. CMS released QSO-23-23-NH on September 25th outlining these changes, including funding caps and an extended list of...
DOL Proposal to Increase Salary Level Needed for White Collar Overtime Exemption: Summary
The Wage & Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a proposed rule on September 8th that would revise federal regulations relating to exemption from overtime pay requirements for executive, administrative,...
Need Help with Your Comments on the Staffing Standard?
LeadingAge has released their guide to commenting on the nursing home staffing standard proposed rule. You can find the guide here. Rather than providing a fill-in-the-blank template, they are providing a guide to help...