UPDATE Weekly

Each year, nursing facilities have the opportunity to submit a Capital Data Survey (CDS) detailing the improvements that have been done in the facility in order to have these items reflected in the Fair Rental Value (FRV) rate. The information submitted to the Division of Medical Assistance prior to the December 31, 2012 deadline will be reflected in the rates effective April 1, 2013.

In order to ensure the accuracy of the FRV information contained in the rate model, DMA has posted the FRV items submitted for the years 2008 through 2012. DMA requests that providers review their CDS information in order to verify its accuracy. Verify that all entries on the aging schedule are correct for type, year, and amount. Also, verify all amounts, are ONLY for nursing beds and no information submitted is for non-nursing beds, such as Rest Home beds or ACH beds.

If you find a discrepancy, DMA requests that you complete a new CDS with ALL entries included as they are to appear on the aging schedule. Please send corrections to:

Brian Passineau
2501 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-2501
Fax: 919-715-4200
Email: brian.passineau@dhhs.nc.gov

The most recent FRV information can be reviewed at http://www.ncdhhs.gov/dma/fee/nursing_home_aging_schedule_2013.xls. Additional information, including the Capital Data Survey forms, can be found at http://www.ncdhhs.gov/dma/fee/nf-frv.htm.

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The American Health Care Association (AHCA) is conducting a nationwide nursing facility staffing survey, which will collect 2012 staffing data that will be used to estimate vacancy, retention and turnover rates of nursing facility employees. Please take the time to complete and return the survey to AHCA by April 24, 2013.

The goal of this survey is to provide statistics on retention and turnover for benchmarking and advocacy purposes at national and state levels, and through LTC Trend Tracker. LTC Trend Tracker is AHCA’s free member-only quality and performance improvement tool made available to participating facilities for internal tracking and benchmarking purposes. Please note that individual peer information will not be disclosed to any party, but is made available in aggregate form for benchmarking purposes. For more information, check out LTC Trend Tracker for the latest staffing report on the AHCA Web site.

Nursing facilities can participate in AHCA’s Nursing Facility Staffing Survey (2012) in one of two ways:

1. Individual facilities may download the survey (PDF format, 120 KB, Excel format 56 KB) from http://www.ahcancal.org/research_data/staffing/Pages/default.aspx, then complete and return the survey to AHCA 2012 Nursing Facility Vacancy Survey, American Health Care Association, 1201 L Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20005, scan and e-mail the survey to research@ahca.org, or fax the completed survey to (202) 454-1299.
2. Multi-facility organizations may download the survey (Excel format, 180 KB) from http://www.ahcancal.org/research_data/staffing/Pages/default.aspx, and e-mail the completed survey to AHCA at research@ahca.org.

Please e-mail research@ahca.org with any questions, or call Jeffrey Liu at (202) 898-2818 or Lisa Matthews-Martin at (202) 898-2824.

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Earlier this week, the following message was sent out by NCTracks, the new multi-payer processing system that will process Medicaid claims starting in July:

All North Carolina DHHS Providers:

NCTracks is the new multi-payer processing system for the NC Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), which will be implemented on July 1, 2013. In preparation for the transition to NCTracks, there are several training opportunities available to providers.

Instructor-Led Training (ILT) will be held in five locations across North Carolina from April 8 through June 20, 2013. There will be approximately two weeks of training at each location, organized by provider/claim type (Institutional, Medical, Dental, and Pharmacy). Course topics are scheduled by job function so each member of a provider’s organization can take only the course(s) he/she needs. Instructor-Led Training can be attended in person or remotely via webinar.

In addition to Instructor-Led Training, there are numerous e-Learning (Computer-Based Training) opportunities. e-Learning courseware will be available beginning April 1, 2013.

SkillPort is the Learning Management System for NCTracks. Providers can use SkillPort to register for Instructor-Led Training, whether they plan to attend in person or remotely. SkillPort is also used to take the e-Learning Computer-Based Training courses. Providers can also access SkillPort using the “NCTracks Training” link on the Enrollment, Verification, and Credentialing (EVC) Web site at http://www.nctracks.nc.gov.

Detailed instructions for “How to Register for Training” and an NCTracks Training Tool Kit including the ILT schedule are available on the OMMISS Communication website at http://ncmmis.ncdhhs.gov/communication.asp.

If you have any questions regarding NCTracks training or the use of SkillPort, please contact the CSC EVC Call Center at 866.844.1113 or by e-mail at NCMedicaid@csc.com.

Thank you,

The NCTracks Communications and Training Team

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Last year, the General Assembly directed the Program Evaluation Division and the Fiscal Research Division to jointly study the feasibility of creating a separate Department of Medicaid. Reviewing the current organizational structure for North Carolina’s Medicaid Program provides an opportunity to consider whether a different structure can improve the management and operation of the program.

The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) expended $14.8 billion for the Medicaid Program including $730.9 million to support Medicaid administration. DHHS is the single state agency responsible for administering the Medicaid Program. The North Carolina Medicaid Program must operate within federal guidelines, but it has broad flexibility in how it manages the program. DHHS has delegated Medicaid administrative functions to the Division of Medical Assistance (DMA), other DHHS divisions and offices, other state agencies, local government agencies, and private contractors.

The Program Evaluation Division identified options for changing the organizational structure of the North Carolina Medicaid Program based on the experience of other states. Options include creating:

• Department of Medicaid,
• Medicaid Program Authority, or
• Department of Health Services that includes the Medicaid Program.

Creating a new Medicaid agency would require a state plan amendment and a reasonable transition period before the organizational changes are finalized. A transition period of 12 to 18 months would allow DHHS and leadership for the new Medicaid agency to plan and implement the necessary changes.

Additional details are available at http://www.ncleg.net/PED/Reports/RecentReports.html.

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Last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) provided the final guidance on Manual Medical Review (MMR) for therapy claims above $3,700. Below is the policy posted by CMS.

• The Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) will conduct prepayment review until March 31, 2013.
• Beginning April 1, 2013, Recovery Audit Contractors (RACs) will conduct prepayment review for all claims processed on or after April 1, 2013 as part of a “demonstration” for the following states: North Carolina, Florida, California, Michigan, Texas, New York, Louisiana, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Missouri.
• Post payment review will be conducted by the RAC in the other states. The 10 days seems to only apply to the prepayment review.

The CMS post can be accessed by clicking here.

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Please register to attend the next Advancing Excellence Webinar on the goal of preventing and managing infections safely. Thursday, April 4th, 3:15 PM to 4:30 PM Eastern Time. This Webinar will explore the resources and tools available on the Advancing Excellence Web site for the Infections goal. To register, click here.

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The NC Association on Aging in partnership with the North Carolina Coalition on Aging will host an Advocacy Boot Camp on Tuesday, April 16th from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM at the Hilton North Raleigh Mid-town.

Advocacy Boot Camp will be held one day prior to the start of the NCAOA Annual Training Conference and offer attendees the opportunity to learn how to navigate our legislative process and become an aging advocate at home. As we face budget challenges and program uncertainties, it is more important than ever that aging network personnel are advocates for their programs and the people they serve.

Advocacy Boot Camp will guide attendees through the legislative process by learning strategies and techniques for being an effective advocate, particularly with local elected officials. Learn how to better make your voice heard in the decision making process and how to put a face on the issues impacting older North Carolinians.

Those who are interested in attending the NCAOA Annual Training Conference or just attending Advocacy Boot Camp can register at http://conta.cc/XtjSLU.

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CSC, the new fiscal agent for the NC Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), will be implementing a new multi-payer processing system, NCTracks. Before the new system goes live on July 1, 2013, there are several types of important information that need to be gathered from all DHHS providers. This information is either new data associated with NCTracks or existing data that could not be transferred from the legacy systems.

The information that is needed includes Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) information for claims payment and the designation of an Office Administrator, as well as Billing Agent information (for providers that use a Billing Agent) and Trading Partner Agreements from providers who intend to submit batch HIPAA 5010 X12 claims through the NCTracks Provider Portal.

A “Currently Enrolled Provider” (CEP) NCTracks Registration process has been developed to enable providers to submit this important information prior to go-live. The CEP process only takes about five minutes to complete and is accessed from the current Enrollment, Verification, and Credentialing Web site at http://www.nctracks.nc.gov.

A letter with this information will also be mailed to all currently enrolled DHHS providers giving specific instructions for submission of this information. The letters will be mailed to providers in batches of approximately 10,000 letters per week over the next several weeks. This letter will provide directions regarding access to the “Currently Enrolled Provider” NCTracks Registration Web page and an access code to verify the identity of the provider when they login to the application. A NCID will also be required to complete the CEP process.

Please be on the alert for the letter. It will arrive in a white, two window envelope with the words “All Providers – Action Required for NC DHHS NCTracks” in red letters on the front of the envelope. The letters are being mailed to the correspondence address on file, to the attention of the Chief Financial Officer.

The CEP process cannot be completed without the authorization code in the letter. If you do not receive a letter by May 1, please contact the EVC Operations Center at (866) 844-1113.

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High turnover of staff at all levels and departments has been a persistent problem in health care for decades. Turnover has been shown to undermine the continuity of care as well as consume financial resources that could otherwise be allocated to improving care and services.

This toolkit, from Healthcentric Advisors, is a “how-to” guide to stabilize staffing with practical tools for both immediate and long term use. It combines concepts, practices, exercises, and tools to assist you in the systematic process of determining the root cause of a problem and identifying potential interventions.

To order, visit http://www.AHCApublications.org or call (800) 321-0343.

Product # 8281
AHCA Members (on-line price) $74.95

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An Alzheimer’s ‘epidemic’ could hit the USA by 2050.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/02/06/alzheimers-dementia-epidemic-numbers-to-triple/1881151

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On April 1st in France, kids fool their friends by taping a paper fish to their backs. When the victim discovers the fish, the prankster yells “Poisson d’Avril!” (April Fish!)

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