The House of Representatives on Tuesday adopted its state FY 2018 budget recommendation, totaling $40.4 billion, representing a nearly 4% increase over the current SFY 2017 budget. The Committee's recommendation includes an additional $17.8 million dedicated to Medicaid nursing facility funding. We are pleased to report that the House also adopted House Majority Leader Ronald Mariano's amendment #377 that provides statutory protection to prevent the displacement of nursing facility residents living in the more than 130 nursing facilities constructed prior

Mass Senior Care’s fiscal year 2018 budget advocacy effort is well underway as the House of Representatives is set to begin debate on Monday, April 24 th. A critical component of our effort is to raise legislator’s and the public’s awareness of the chronic Medicaid funding shortfall that nursing facilities face which severely limits providers’ ability to increase wages for direct care staff. Recently, the Lowell Sun featured a front page article, “Lawmakers Back Medicaid changes to boost nursing home

On May 15, 2017, Mass Senior Care President Tara Gregorio will participate in a panel presentation at the 2017 Marcum Long-Term Care Symposium at Mohegan Sun Conference Center in Uncasville, CT. An Associate Member of Mass Senior Care Association, Marcum’s 2017 Symposium is dedicated to providing professionals with a glimpse of the future, both operationally and economically. Joined by colleagues from several other New England long term care associations and the American Health Care Association, the panel will respond to

Is your facility prepared to meet the new emergency preparedness requirements by the November 15, 2017, compliance date? The Medicare Learning Network has scheduled a training call on Thursday, April 27 from 2:30 to 3:30 pm ET. During this call, learn about implementation of the final rule, including an overview of the regulation and training and testing requirements. A question and answer session follows the presentation. To register or for more information, visit MLN Connects Event Registration.

Mass Senior Care is pleased to share the results of a newly published study conducted by Jennifer Tija, MD, Associate Professor, UMass Medical School, et al, that demonstrated the use of antipsychotic medications in nearly 100 Massachusetts nursing homes was significantly reduced after staff received Oasis training. In 2011, the Massachusetts Senior Care Foundation oversaw implementation of Oasis in an 11-facility pilot project, with funding from Commonwealth Corporation. From 2012-2016, staff from 363 Massachusetts nursing facilities have participated in one

As part of its MassHealth program integrity efforts, the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) has announced the selection of Optum as its Third Party Administrator (TPA) Vendor to manage certain functions of the MassHealth Long Term Services and Supports (LTSS). The TPA’s work will cover LTSS State Plan Fee-For-Services (not under the responsibility of a managed care entity) provided to members over and under 65, including members eligible for waiver programs. According to the agency, the TPA

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) has released a memorandum updating skilled nursing facilities on the Supportive Planning and Operations Team (SPOT) which was implemented in April 2016. Beginning this month, the SPOT team will visit an additional 20 nursing homes to engage in an assessment of the quality assurance and performance improvement activities. Skilled nursing facilities will receive timely feedback after the assessment is completed. Based upon the findings of the assessment, the SPOT team will provide individualized

The Executive Office of Health and Human Services/UMass yesterday posted on its website the electronic Direct Care Add On Compliance Form worksheet that nursing facilities need to complete for the Interim Filing due Monday, May 1st at 5:00 p.m. To be able to access the electronic Direct Care Compliance Form worksheet on the state's website, EOHHS is requiring each nursing facility to first designate a contact person who will submit the data. To register for access to the Direct Care

Last week, the Committee on House Ways and Means released its state FY 2018 budget recommendation, totaling $40.3 billion, representing a 3.8% increase over the current SFY 2017 budget. The Committee’s recommendation includes $180 million more than Governor Baker’s House 1 recommendation, $17.8 million of which is dedicated to Medicaid nursing facility funding. Mass Senior Care is grateful to Chairman Brain Dempsey, Speaker Robert DeLeo and the House of Representatives for their support of qualify nursing home care. Please click

Strategic Health Solutions, LLC (SHS) is the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Supplemental Medical Review Contractor (SMRC) that is charged with conducting nationwide medical review as directed by CMS to address specific agency interests regarding coverage, coding, payment, and billing practices. Recently, the SHS website announced that on March 17, 2017, CMS directed the SMRC to conduct a post-pay audit of SNF PPS claims under project number Y4P0445. SNF providers selected for this audit may receive an Additional