UPDATE Weekly

UPDATE Weekly #1692 – September 5, 2012

September 5, 2012

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This Week’s Table of Contents:

TIME IS RUNNING OUT TO SUBMIT FABULOUS FIFTY NOMINATIONS

Only 9 days remain to submit nominations for the Fabulous Fifty Awards.  Have you nominated one or more of your front-line staff for the Fabulous Fifty Award?  What a great way to recognize and celebrate someone who makes a significant difference in the lives of your residents and their families.  To fill out nomination forms on-line visit the Member Center of the Association Web site at http://www.NursingHomesNC.com.  Pictures for nominations submitted online may be mailed to the Association office or e-mailed to janw@nchcfa.org.  Only one nomination may be submitted for each discipline, but we welcome nominations from more than one department of your facility.

The deadline to receive completed nominations is Friday, September 14th.  Please encourage your facility to participate in this special award program.

The dates for the 13th Annual Fabulous Fifty Celebrations are:

  • District I – October 18, 2012, Grand Bohemian Hotel, Asheville
  • District II – October 23, 2012, Hilton Charlotte University Place, Charlotte
  • District III – October 25, 2012, Sheraton Four Seasons, Greensboro
  • District IV – October 30, 2012, Mad Boar Restaurant, Wallace
  • District V – November 1, 2012, North Raleigh Hilton, Raleigh

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UPDATE – CMS MANUAL MEDICAL REVIEW FOR THERAPY
Last month, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the details of its plan to conduct manual medical reviews for outpatient therapy claims over $3,700.  CMS has already hosted one Open Door Forum (ODF) on this matter for providers on August 7, 2012 and additional guidance is forthcoming.  A transcript and audio recording of this Open Door Forum (ODF) is available by clicking here.

The manual medical reviews will be implemented in three phases beginning October 1, November 1 and December 1.    CMS recently posted NPI numbers and corresponding phase numbers on their Web site.  Providers may click here to view this file.  Part B outpatient therapy providers that are not listed on this page are in Phase 3.

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IMPORTANT FREE WEBINAR – CHANGES TO FEDERAL BENEFIT PAYMENTS: WHAT NURSING FACILITIES (NF) NEED TO KNOW
The American Health Care Association is hosting a Webinar on September 18, 2012 at 2:00 PM EST to review how providers can comply with the final rule issued by the US Department of the Treasury in December 2010. The final rule announced that all federal benefit and non-tax payments must be paid electronically, this includes Social Security payments. This Webinar will discuss how providers can comply with the new regulation in their facilities with their residents.To register for the event, please visit http://webinars.ahcancal.org/session.php?id=9422.Learning Objectives:1) Understand new rules requiring federal benefit payments to be made electronically by 3/1/13;2) Learn how the rules will affect NF’s current benefit deposit procedures;3) Identify the role of financial institutions;

4) Discuss various NF scenarios and understand the actions necessary for compliance; and

5) Know how NF’s can help convert residents funds to direct deposit.The presenters will be Debra Pizzulo, VP of Business Operations, Cypress Health Group and Matthew Helfrich, US Treasury.

For those of you unable to attend, this Webinar event will be recorded and can be accessed via the AHCA Webinar archive, http://webinars.ahcancal.org/index.php.

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DELAY IN COMPLIANCE DATE FOR ICD-10
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced the release of a rule that makes final a one-year proposed delay—from October 1, 2013 to October 1, 2014—in the compliance date for the industry’s transition to ICD-10 codes. The deadline for the transition to ICD-10 is October 1, 2014.

Click here to visit the ICD-10 Web site for the latest news and resources to help you prepare.

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SEPTEMBER MEDICAID BULLETIN
The latest issue of the Medicaid Bulletin is now available.  This latest issue has information on:

  • Recredentialing
  • Upcoming Medicaid billing seminars
  • Eligibility assessments for Consolidated Personal Care Services
  • Transition planning for Consolidated Personal Care Services
  • Checkwrite schedule for September and October
  • Others items of value to the provider community

To access all of the issues of the Medicaid Bulletin, click here.

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REGISTER TODAY FOR THE AHCA/NCAL 63RD ANNUAL CONVENTION & EXPO

The AHCA/NCAL 63rd Annual Convention & Expo begins in just 4 short weeks with lots of great education sessions, speakers, networking and social events planned!  Advanced registration continues through September 10, 2012.  Consider registering for the Premium Full Meeting Package to make the most of your convention experience.  You’ll have access to all education sessions, the opening and closing general sessions, The Expo Hall with complimentary lunch, and more!  Don’t miss the premiere long term and post-acute care event of the year!

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LAST WEEK TO REGISTER FOR NCHCFA/PAC FIRST ANNUAL PINEHURST AUTUMN CLASSIC

Make plans today to join your friends and colleagues in beautiful Pinehurst, North Carolina, on September 12th and 13th for the NCHCFA’s first annual “Pinehurst Autumn Classic” being held at the world famous Pine Needles Lodge and Resort. The event will begin on Wednesday evening with a reception, dinner and program, “An Analysis:  56 Days to Election 2012”.  Built in 1928, the Donald Ross course at Pine Needles has been host to three US Women’s Open tournaments, 1996, 2001 and again in 2007.

IMPORTANT REMINDER – If you need an overnight reservation please call Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club today at (800) 747-7272!  The discounted rate will expire tomorrow. 

The Pinehurst Autumn Classic is being sponsored by the NC Health Care Facilities Association to benefit our political action committee (PAC).  Our PAC is woefully underfunded at a time when national and state elections have never been more important and the costs of running for elective office have never been higher.  To see a schedule of events and registration details, please click here.

You do not have to play golf or tennis to participate!  We hope you will join us in Pinehurst in September.

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WHAT IS YOUR RE-HOSPITALIZATION RATE?
The American Health Care Association (AHCA) is pleased to announce that PointRight has agreed to provide AHCA with their 30 day risk adjusted re-hospitalization measure that is based on MDS 3.0 data.  AHCA will use PointRight’s risk adjusted measure to calculate each facility’s 30 day re-hospitalization rate and provide that information to each member free via LTC Trend Tracker.  AHCA receives MDS 3.0 data from CMS on a regular basis and will calculate each facility’s risk adjusted re-hospitalization rate. This will allow AHCA to provide their member facilities with more timely, more complete and better risk adjusted re-hospitalization rates than the current measure which is based on Medicare Claims. AHCA has just received MDS 3.0 data through the first part of 2012 and measurement methodology from PointRight.  AHCA hopes to have this new risk adjusted measure available by the end of the year.  Updates will be provided on a regular basis throughout 2013 as new MDS data is received from CMS. Facilities will only need to access LTC Trend Tracker to see their own rates and to compare themselves to their peers.  We are excited and appreciative of PointRight’s willingness to work with AHCA on helping to achieve the goal of reducing re-hospitalizations by 15% by March 2015.

LTC Trend Tracker can be accessed by clicking here.

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E-MAIL UPDATES FROM PALMETTO GBA

Palmetto GBA encourages all providers to use their Web site to register to receive their e-mail updates.  By registering, you can stay up-to-date with important Medicare information.  To register, click here.

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AHCA PRODUCT OF THE WEEK-CASES IN HEALTH SERVICES MANAGEMENT
This book explores 28 challenging cases covering pivotal issues that most health care administrators and managers are likely to encounter at some point in their work—quality improvement, strategic planning, ethical dilemmas, organizational dynamics, cost–benefit analyses, resource utilization, and more. Providing an exceptional framework for decision-making and debate, Cases in Health Services Management is an outstanding casebook that provokes thought and discussion.To order, visit http://www.AHCApublications.orgor call (800) 321-0343.Product #8248

AHCA MEMBERS $59.95

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PHYSICAL RESTRAINT BROCHURES
This brochure outlines what physical restraints are, rules and regulations concerning restraints, and making decisions about using them. Contact Jan Williams at janw@nchcfa.org to order brochures for your facility.

  • NCHCFA Member: $30.00 per 100 brochures plus tax and shipping
  • Non-Members: $60.00 per 100 brochures plus tax and shipping

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NEED TO GO

Aphasia DVDs are now available for sale.  This film, starring Carl McIntyre, received rave reviews from our members at the closing session of our 2012 NCHCFA Annual Convention & Expo.  To order a DVD, please visit Carl’s Web site at http://www.aphasiathemovie.com/Aphasia_Project/Aphasia_the_Movie.html.

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DID YOU KNOW?

Ancient Romans divided their days into 12 hours from dawn to sunset and 12 hours from sunset to dawn.  Because daylight is shorter at certain times of the year and longer at others, the length of an hour varied by the season from 45 minutes long at the winter solstice to 75 minutes long at the summer solstice.

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North Carolina Health Care Facilities Association
3109 Bur Oak Circle | Raleigh, NC 27612
(919) 782-3827 Fax | (919) 787-8418 | NCHCFA.org | NursingHomesNC.com

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