News

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) today released the long-awaited rule requiring COVID-19 vaccination of staff working in a wide-range of Medicare and Medicaid-certified provider types.

Findings during initial surveys of assisted living settings show a range of compliance with most providers well underway with incorporating new requirements. Several themes are evident in these initial findings. Learning more about these themes can assist providers in auditing their facilities for compliance. 

The Frontline Worker Pay Work Group met for the final time yesterday. Unfortunately, the legislators could not find a consensus on a proposal for Hero Pay bonus distribution. After meeting over a dozen times, lawmakers sent a DFL-supported report, known as the majority proposal, and a Republican report, known as the minority proposal, to be reviewed by the legislature if a special session were to be called by Gov. Walz, an increasingly unlikely scenario.

After weeks of discussions, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) added booster vaccinations to the emergency use authorization (EUA) for both Moderna and Johnson & Johnson. The CDC endorsed recommendations for booster injections.

The Frontline Worker Pay Work Group met yesterday—more than a month past its designated deadline for reaching an agreement—and announced that there was still no agreement for distributing the $250 million designated by the legislature for frontline worker bonuses.

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) has made the survey tool for assisted living meals and menus available. The tool provides insight into how compliance with the USDA Guidelines will be interpreted. 

The Board of Executives for Long Term Services and Supports (BELTSS) has released the self-assessment tools for Licensed Assisted Living Director (LALD) students to utilize during their field experience. The self-assessment is part of a more extensive Assisted Living Director in Residence (ALDIR) toolkit, now available on the BELTSS website under "Forms and Tutorials."  This toolkit will be the foundation for the field experience as mentors, and LALD students begin their time together. 

LeadingAge Minnesota has recently completed an update of our environmental scan, which tracks key trends and issues across various essential categories, including demographics, workforce, payment and consumer preferences. The scan is an excellent tool for use in strategic planning discussions with boards and other key leaders.

The information available from the CMS Quality, Certification and Oversight Reports (QCOR) database shows that the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) completed 100 nursing facility recertification surveys during the federal fiscal year ending Sept. 30. There is some lag time in survey data entry, so the year-end total is likely slightly higher. Here's a sampling of the data:

The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) has pushed out the target dates for moving from emergency background studies back to studies with fingerprints and photographs. 

Due to the vast scale of workforce challenges faced by providers, the Long-Term Care Imperative recently conducted a workforce survey of care center and assisted living providers to measure the scope of the problems and to influence policymakers in support of a much-needed response.

The LeadingAge Minnesota Payment Committee is holding a special meeting next Wednesday, Oct. 6, at 10 a.m. to discuss the status of care center Medicaid rates for 2022 in light of recent information from DHS on their plans to implement cost offsets due to federal aid received by providers.

LeadingAge Minnesota has been working intensively with state agency leaders to illustrate the seriousness and urgency of the workforce crisis facing providers and collaborate on identifying solutions and support to respond.

As we settle into the new assisted living requirements, it is a good time for self-auditing. According to the new law, an assisted living must post the following:

Beginning this week, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) is utilizing contractors from an agency called Healthcare Management Solutions (HMS) to conduct nursing home recertification surveys, which are currently backlogged at the Department. 

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) released a notice via GovDelivery indicating a transition pathway for Basic Care Aides (BCA) to become Nursing Assistants through an expedited process before the end of the 1135 Waiver.

This is the very last week you will receive LeadingAge Minnesota’s Advantage newsletter on a Wednesday. Starting next week, you can expect it to be delivered to your inbox every Thursday afternoon.

Last week the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) announced that it is making $25.5 billion in new funding available for health care providers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

As part of a broad COVID-19 Action Plan released late last week, President Biden announced new vaccine mandates for workers across the country. The plan addresses several topics relevant to aging services, including preparation for the delivery of booster shots if approved and recommended by the FDA and CDC, and efforts to build the supply of rapid COVID tests, but the most prominent aspects of the White House plan relate to mandates.

Thursday, Sept. 2 marked the final working group meeting for Hero Pay. Since July, lawmakers have been meeting to finalize how the $250 million allocated to reward frontline workers will be distributed. In their final meeting, co-chairs Senator Housley and Majority Leader Winkler indicated that progress is being made. However, they have yet to reach a consensus and will continue the conversation beyond their self-imposed deadline of Sept. 7.