UPDATE Weekly

On March 30, 2018, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued Transmittal 4011, with CMS Medicare Claims Processing Manual changes revising the Skilled Nursing Facility Advance Beneficiary Notice of Non-Coverage (SNF ABN), Form CMS-10055. With this revision, CMS is discontinuing the 5 SNF Denial Letters and the Notice of Exclusion from Medicare Benefits (NEMB-SNF), Form CMS-20014; the revised SNF ABN replaces the formerly used SNF ABN, the 5 SNF Denial Letters, and the NEMB.

SNFs must use the revised SNF ABN to inform beneficiaries of their potential liability for Part A items or services that may be denied effective April 30, 2018, however SNFs can implement use of the new form prior to that date. For instructions on use of Form CMS-10055, see here.

SNFs will continue to use the ABN, Form CMS-R-131, for items or services that may be denied by Medicare paid under Medicare Part B to inform beneficiaries of their potential liability.

These changes are effective April 30, 2018.

Note that use of the revised SNF ABN is addressed in the requirements and interpretive guidance under F-582, Medicare/Medicaid Coverage/Liability Notice, which can be found here.

The transmittal is available here.

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Updates have been made to several Medicare Learning Network (MLN) publications that may be of interest to nursing facility operators.

SNF ABN MLN Matters Article — New
A new MLN Matters Article on Skilled Nursing Facility Advance Beneficiary Notice of Non-Coverage (SNF ABN) is available. Learn about the discontinuation of the five SNF denial letters and the Notice of Exclusion from Medicare Benefits, Form CMS-20014.

SNF Value-Based Purchasing Program Updated MLN Matters Article — New
A new MLN Matters Special Edition Article on Skilled Nursing Facility Value-Based Purchasing Program Updated is available. Learn about scoring and operational policies affecting payment determination in FY 2019 and the exchange function approach to implement incentive payment adjustments.

Visit the Medicare Learning Network and see how it can support your educational needs. Learn about publications; calls and webcasts; continuing education credits; Web-Based Training; newsletters; and other resources.

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Medicare is simplifying claims documentation requirements so that providers spend less time on paperwork, allowing more time to focus on patients. Visit the Provider Compliance Group’s Simplifying Documentation Requirements and Reducing Provider Burden Webpages to learn about their recent initiatives, including:

• Documentation Requirements Simplification Initiative
• Simplifying medical review with Targeted Probe and Educate

Where should they focus next? Send feedback and suggestions to ReducingProviderBurden@cms.hhs.gov.

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Make plans today to join your colleagues for the seventh annual NCHCFA Summer Symposium. The three-day event will be August 8-10, 2018 at the Embassy Suites Resort at Kingston Plantation, Myrtle Beach, SC. Call the Embassy Suites Resort at (800) 876-0010 to reserve your overnight room. Use group code “HCF” to identify yourself as a NC Health Care Facilities Association Convention attendee! To make your reservation on-line, visit https://tinyurl.com/ncsummersymposium2018.

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The North Carolina Health Care Facilities Association will be presenting this workshop to our members for the fifth time! This workshop was offered across the state of NC in 2017 with great success and outstanding reviews. If you missed it last year, sign up today!

Servant leadership is a set of behaviors and practices that turn the traditional “power leadership” model upside down; instead of the people working to serve the leader, the leader exists to serve the people. When leaders shift their mindset and serve first, they unlock purpose and ingenuity in those around them, resulting in higher performance and engaged, fulfilled employees. As servant leaders, your purpose is to inspire and equip those you influence.

The goal of this workshop is to provide attendees with information and tools that are relevant, transformative, memorable, and actionable. You will learn and practice execution of the most critical skills needed for leading by serving first. You will come out of this course feeling energized and have a number of tools and skills you can start to apply immediately to empower your teams.

This workshop will be Thursday, May 24th in Greensboro, NC. It will be facilitated by Mark Gogal, a Human Resources Leader with over 25 years of progressive, global, and diverse human resources experience, practical business partnering expertise, strong organizational and analytical skills, and proven strategic management experience. Mark is an enthusiastic and passionate leader and presenter that has a multi-faceted background in developing and implementing core HR policies/practices to meet the changing business, legal, and labor compliance environment. He has worked in a variety of industries in the public and private sectors including healthcare. Mark truly enjoys developing others to reach their fullest potential both professionally and personally.

For the complete brochure and registration information, click here.

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NCHCFA Districts have scheduled their spring meetings. District meetings allow participants to interact with peers in a comfortable atmosphere, promoting valuable and productive conversation. Each space will be limited to 50 individuals. There will be a small registration cost of $35.00 to help with the speaker fee. Lunch will be provided.

This program will offer 4.0 contact hours for nursing home administrators. The North Carolina Health Care Facilities Association is a Registered Sponsor of continuing education with the NC State Board of Examiners for Nursing Home Administrators. Comments regarding the Registered Sponsor Course may be addressed to: NCBENHA, 3733 National Drive, Suite 110, Raleigh, NC 27612.

The agenda will include the following topics/presentations:

Agenda

10:00 AM – 10:30 AM
Alliant Quality (QIN-QIO) –Alliant Quality will present an update on NC’s facilities’ quality measures.

10:30 AM – 2:30 PM
All Clear Emergency Management Group, LLC – Will Moorhead, President and Owner of All Clear Emergency Management Group, LLC, will dive into the “how to” of the exercise requirement of the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services emergency preparedness rule. Learn how to design, conduct, and evaluate an exercise in a nursing home environment. The session will briefly review the CMS requirements, provide practical tips for efficiently completing a useful risk assessment, and examine the contents of a CMS compliant and practically applicable emergency plan. This review of the CMS requirements will demonstrate how exercise design is more easily accomplished when utilizing the best practices for risk assessment and emergency planning. Participants will be guided through information and steps that can be utilized for exercise design within their facility.

District I
April 25th
Silver Bluff Village
100 Silver Bluff Drive
Canton, NC 28716
Click here for District I registration form

District II
May 8th
Wilkes Senior Village
204 Old Brick Yard Road
North Wilkesboro, NC 28659
Click here for District II registration form

District III
May 22nd
Clapp’s Mountain Top Living Apartments
450 Mountain Top Drive
Asheboro, NC 27203
Click here for District III registration form

District IV
May 9th
Bradley Creek Health Center at Carolina Bay
630 Carolina Bay Drive
Wilmington, NC 28403
Click here for District IV registration form

District V
May 23rd
Cypress Glen Retirement Community
100 Hickory Street
Greenville, NC 27858
Click here for District V registration form

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NCHCFA has a new benefit of membership in 2018—a monthly Lunch and Learn Webinar Series. NCHCFA will offer a one-hour Webinar on a timely and relevant topic to its members for no additional charge. There will be no CEUs offered for these Webinars.

The next Webinar in the series is scheduled for April 19th, from 12 noon-1:00 PM. Mark your calendar today! Webinar details are below:

Title: Resident Opioid Use – Risks and Legal Obligations of Long Term Care Pharmacies, Facilities and Medical Directors
Presenter: Smith Moore Leatherwood, LLP

The Opioid crisis is in the news on a daily basis. Combatting the crisis is a primary government focus at the national and state levels. Litigation is filed weekly seeking to hold manufacturers, distributors, pharmacies, and prescribers responsible for addiction and the cost to government of dealing with the crisis. In this Webinar, you will learn about NC’s opioid legislation and action plan, how issues could arise during surveys, current trends in litigation, dangers within your own facility and workforce, and practical ways to seek to reduce your risk of government enforcement or resident claims. Responsibilities of and preventive strategies for long term care pharmacies, facilities, and medical directors will be addressed. Click here to register today!

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The AHCA education library is a living repository of tools and resources to help you navigate the Requirements of Participation. It contains an array of documents divided into three categories- Action Briefs, Tools, and Webinars.

• Action Briefs – provide highlights, specific information, tips and resources about a particular topic
• Tools – are an instrument designed to assist you in implementing the requirement
• Webinars – are an array of communications from AHCA to assist you in learning and mastering the new requirements

Click here to view the AHCA library and return often to see the newest materials available.

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This brochure outlines what physical restraints are, when they should be used, rules and regulations concerning restraints, and making decisions about using them. To order, e-mail your request to Donna Snyder at donnas@nchcfa.org.

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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Data is Essential for Skilled Nursing Facilities to Thrive in New World.

Skilled Nursing News Article

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Penguins mate for life. Male penguins “propose” to females by giving them a pebble.

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