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A recent federal court case regarding a wrongful death claim is a good reminder for all providers: check the expiration dates on your insurance policies.

Changes to Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) civil penalty amounts based on cost-of-living adjustments for 2023 went into effect on Jan. 17.

On Jan. 17, CMS survey staff leaders notified our national partners at LeadingAge that they are automating parts of the process for creating and sending letters to nursing homes for imposed Civil Monetary Penalties (CMPs). There is no underlying CMP policy change being made.

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) recently reminded assisted living providers to customize all pre-written sample policies to avoid correction orders.

On Jan. 18, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced two initiatives in quality and safety oversight memo 23-05-NH in response to the Biden-Harris administration effort to improve nursing home transparency, safety, and quality. CMS intends to conduct offsite nursing home audits to determine if the nursing home correctly coded diagnoses for residents using antipsychotic medication. CMS will change how citations under dispute are posted.

This morning, Governor Tim Walz released a preview of his proposed budget addressing Minnesota's workforce challenges. This preview covers a variety of sectors and includes some investments benefitting aging services.

Over 20 LeadingAge Minnesota skilled nursing facilities are piloting an employee engagement solution to improve employee retention through data-driven action.

On Jan. 5, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to prohibit employers from imposing noncompete clauses on workers. Noncompete clauses or agreements block people from working for a competing employer or starting a competing business after their current employment ends.

Minnesota Health Care Programs (MHCP) sent revalidation notices at the end of December to Home and Community-Based Services (provider type 18 organizations starting with letters S and T).

The Caregiver Stabilization Act (SF 7) was heard in the Senate Human Services Committee on Monday afternoon.

LeadingAge Minnesota completed a survey of our adult day services members to evaluate their financial health and the challenges they are facing in recovering from the impacts of the Covid pandemic. The results make clear that adult day service providers face many challenges as they attempt to maintain this vital part of the network of services for the elderly and disabled.

The Public Health Emergency (PHE), first declared in Jan. 2020 and extended continually for 90-day periods since then, has been extended for another 90 days until April 11. 

The 2022 Long-Term Care Updated Surveyor Guidance six-part webinar series is available on demand.

Initially recorded in the Fall of 2022, this series covers the guidance updates and what you need to do to be ready for a survey from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) guidance on minimum health and safety standards in Long-Term Care (LTC) Facilities that went into effect on Oct. 24, 2022.

The 2022 Billing Trends, Strategies, and Updates for Care Centers six-part webinar series is available on demand.

Originally recorded Nov. 9-10, this series is designed to provide timely updates on critical issues that impact experienced care center billing office staff. It will cover the latest information on billing for care center services to private pay, Medicaid, Medicare, and managed care clients.

LeadingAge Minnesota is excited to announce that members can post their open positions on the AgingServicesJobs.org job board at a reduced rate – all year long!

As OnTrack ended its most successful year, it reached a new milestone. Over 5,000 students have been registered with OnTrack since its launch in 2018. 

Applications for the 2023 Leadership Academy are now open.

About Leadership Academy

Leading well through these unprecedented challenging times requires solid skills and team relationships. During their year-long program, Leadership Academy fellows learn and apply ideas, tools, principles, and theory to strengthen their leadership and foster an organizational culture to lead in normal and not-so-normal times.

The current round of applications for nursing facility moratorium exceptions has closed. The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) recently informed LeadingAge Minnesota that six care centers submitted proposals for this round. A review committee will hear the proposals in February, and the MDH commissioner will announce the approved projects by April 6.

The Department of Human Services (DHS) recently informed us that they intend to offset the revenue from the federal Employee Retention Credit (ERC) from care center costs based on the wages and taxes used in the ERC application. That means that some care centers will see reductions in their rate for the rate year that started this Jan. 1. DHS auditors have begun requesting detailed information from care centers that have applied for the ERC to determine these offsets.

Earlier this week, the Minnesota Legislature gaveled in the start of this year's session. LeadingAge Minnesota and our Long-Term Care Imperative partner are prepared to advocate for our members and share our key message throughout the session, which is slated to end in May. With a $17 billion budget surplus, lawmakers must act to ensure access to care for Minnesota's seniors and that caregivers receive the wages they deserve.

With the assistance of several nurse leaders, LeadingAge Minnesota created a sample document for assisted living organizations to communicate expectations to staff. Understanding when an unlicensed person (ULP) must contact a registered nurse (RN) can be confusing, and the resource can help clarify some of your questions.

LeadingAge Minnesota's exciting new Data Portal continues to expand to provide opportunities for tracking and benchmarking your performance on key metrics. In January, we will launch the assisted living quality and services measures portal application.

The most impactful way to retain your current staff is to invest in their professional development. Institute is the best value for your investment, with the average cost to attend at less than $40 per person per day when you register by Jan. 4.

This year, OnTrack had its best year yet, training over 1,800 nursing assistants in member settings around the state.

As HUD readies its new NSPIRE housing inspection protocol, the agency has begun to share details of the Real Estate Assessment Center's (REAC) new protocol implementation, scheduled for October 2023.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will host the first Nursing Home Stakeholder Call of the new year on Thursday, Jan. 5 at 2 p.m. CST. The discussion will focus on post-acute care quality reporting programs. The event is open to the public; registration is required. After you register, you will receive zoom information.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) was very busy last week. The Board issued four new rulings that significantly impact labor relations between employers and employees. 

The Affordable Care Act mandated that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) establish risk categories for Medicare enrollment to determine what level of scrutiny to give provider enrollment applications, which includes initial enrollment, change of ownership (CHOW) applications, and revalidations. Three risk categories were created under 42 CFR § 424.518: limited, moderate, and high. Providers in the limited-risk category are subject to the lowest scrutiny, and those in the high-risk category are subject to the most scrutiny. 

The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released a report outlining the potentially inappropriate use of several psychotropic medications, including antipsychotics, anxiolytics, sedative-hypnotics, and anticonvulsants. As a result, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) plans to increase its oversight of psychotropic drugs and focus more closely on certain drug classes.

The Minnesota Department of Health is mailing a combination of COVID-19/Flu A&B rapid test kits to all skilled nursing facilities in the state. Kits should be arriving in the next 2-3 weeks.