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A lot of temporary measures will dry up or disappear when the public health emergency (PHE) comes to an end, but one thing that may become permanent is the Medicaid rate bumps states put in place to alleviate pressures nursing home operators face.

At least that’s the hope for industry leaders and advocacy groups.

Right now there are 12 states that have Medicaid add ons currently tied to the end of the PHE, according to American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living President and CEO Mark Parkinson.

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It’s a curious day when I lift a lyric from the Spice Girls to title an article. The Spice Girls’ first single, “Wannabe,” was released in 1996 and rocketed to the top of the British singles chart. “Wannabe” went on to hit number one in some 30 countries.

But this lyric is so perfect and reflects the key messages that the sensational Heidi Wold, chief clinical officer of Longevity Health Plan, and I presented this August at Zimmet Healthcare Services Group’s annual conference. Do you “wannabe” in a preferred network, have high occupancy, and most importantly, have excellent resident outcomes?

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The five-star quality rating system has been a thorny issue for a lot of operators in the skilled nursing space, with many calling for a significant overhaul to quality metrics as facilities drown in seemingly endless federal benchmark adjustments.

Even academics and consultants monitoring the sector believe the ratings system needs to be updated – the Convergence Center for Policy Resolution, for one, called on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to base ratings more on resident and family lived experiences.

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As the Biden administration marches toward some type of minimum staffing requirement for nursing homes, it’s easy for providers to feel like helpless, angry victims. Even as a proponent of acuity-based staffing standards in some form, I too am annoyed.

How can we authentically work toward nursing home reform if our efforts are based upon decades-old staffing studies that don’t acknowledge the diversity of residents, specialization of providers and caregivers, and technologies in nursing homes today?

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“Providers are relieved that they can finally catch a breath from all the focused infection control surveys, but are anxiously awaiting the standard survey,” Melanie Tribe-Scott said. “This delay could greatly impact the Five Star Health Inspection rating, which takes into account the last three standard surveys. In other words, if a facility is late for a standard survey, then a bad survey from five years ago or longer could still be reflected on the Five-Star Rating.”

Link: https://www.mcknights.com/news/key-senator-pressures-state-survey-agencies-over-staffing-related-delays/

Leaders worrying about burnout amongst their staff are asking, “What can I do to help?” They need practical advice to enhance their ability to prevent nurse burnout. This blog post offers real-world strategies to help leaders during staffing shortages as burnout reaches epidemic proportions.

Link: https://www.aapacn.org/blog/burnout-how-can-nurse-leadership-help/

 

On a recent flight, I sat next to an attorney whose principal focus was compliance. It turned out that we were both on our way to speak at events in the same popular Florida conference destination. She was not in healthcare, but when she heard that I worked with nursing homes, she made a comment that caught my attention.

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“Section GG and section G don’t have to match exactly because the coding instructions are different,” says Melanie Tribe-Scott, BSN, RN, RAC-MT, RAC-MTA, QCP, director of quality initiatives for Zimmet Healthcare Services Group in Manalapan, NJ. “However, these two sections should at least agree.”

Link: https://www.aapacn.org/article/section-gg-education-and-spot-audits-boost-coding-quality/

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on Thursday published new guidance for calculating staffing stars in the public-facing rating system. It incorporates total nurse staffing on weekends; annual RN and total nurse turnover; and administrator turnover.

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The Biden administration, and its federal agencies, appear to be in lockstep in how they have been thinking and talking about nursing homes, industry leaders say, further evidenced by the latest release on the rules of participation for Medicare and Medicaid.

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