News

Testifiers in a hearing in the U.S. House Ways & Means Committee last week called for bipartisan legislative action to address the needs of a growing aging population facing high costs of healthcare and housing. 

In a report released last week, the Government Accountability Offices (GA)) alleges that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has yet to enforce several of its recommendations after an earlier GAO report found oversight gaps in abuse reporting requirements for nursing homes. 

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has made two revisions to emergency preparedness requirements for nursing facilities under a rule taking effect Nov. 29, 2019. Read a summary of the rule’s impact prepared by LeadingAge national.  

Get the latest scoop on what is happening in Congress and how we can work together to accomplish our important legislative agenda. Join the LeadingAge Capitol Hill Insights call on Nov. 21 at 1 p.m.  

Congress has yet to pass a FY20 HUD appropriations bill as the House and Senate Appropriations Committee have not reached an agreement on spending limits. 

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has extended the submission deadline for the Skilled Nursing Facility Quality Reporting Program MDS assessment data for April 1, 2019 – June 30, 2019. All data must be submitted no later than 11:59 p.m. on Nov. 18.  

The U.S. House of Representatives this week voted unanimously to pass the Dignity in Aging Act, which reauthorizes the Older Americans Act (OAA) and increases funding for vital programs that help aging Americans live independently and with dignity.

Evan Shulman, national Director of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Division of Nursing Homes, offered a Regulatory Update during this week’s LeadingAge national conference in San Diego.  Here are a few highlights from his Oct. 29 remarks:  

Social isolation is a growing epidemic among older adults. Nearly half of older adults feel isolated, alone or left out, and seniors who experience social isolation face a 29% increased risk of mortality. U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) is addressing this challenge by introducing legislation to counter the detrimental and physical effects of social isolation among seniors. 

Get the latest news on federal regulation and legislation on this week’s Capitol Insights Call hosted by LeadingAge. Sign up here for the Thursday, Oct. 24 call that begins a 1 p.m. 

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released a pair of administrative memos related to State Survey Agencies’ performance in the survey process: Admin Info: 20-01-ALL details results from the State Performance Standards System (SPSS) for FY 2016 – 2018, and Admin Info: 20-02-ALL announces revisions to the FY 2020 SPSS Guidance.  

In late September, Congress passed a continuing resolution that funds federal programs through Nov. 21. This means there is much work to be done when Congress returns from recess this month. LeadingAge has provided a Federal Policy Update on issues that matter most to you and will cover key issues on its Capitol Hill Insights call on Oct. 24.  

A federal judge last week issued a nationwide preliminary injunction blocking the Public Charge final rule that would have allowed the government to base green card decisions on whether an immigrant could be later seen as a financial burden on taxpayers.  

With seven weeks to go until the effective date of the Phase 3 requirements for care centers, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has not finalized its proposed rule (“Regulatory Provisions to Promote Efficiency and Transparency”) published July 18 that would delay implementation of certain Phase 3 requirements and lighten other existing regulatory burdens for settings.  

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) plans to remove two quality measures relating to pain from the Nursing Home Compare website and the Five Star Quality Rating System.   

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has posted a corrected version of the latest PDPM DLL Package (V1.0003 FINAL), which includes identified grouper discrepancies and updated test files and documentation.  

A recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, Elder Abuse: Federal Requirements for Oversight in Nursing Homes and Assisted Living Facilities Differ, examined the variations in oversight and abuse reporting requirements between nursing homes assisted living.   

A bill to reauthorize the Older Americans Act (OAA) would increase funding for programs that support older adults aging in place and includes provisions to help develop and expand the direct care workforce.  

The Nursing Home Workforce Quality Act (H.R.4468) introduced in Congress last week would remove the mandatory two-year waiting period to reinstate a nursing home provider's CNA training authority that is imposed when fines exceed a certain level.  

Citing the importance of direct care workers in all sectors of the long-term services and supports field, and the millions of workers who will be needed in the next five years, a new bill in Congress establishes grants to recruit, retain, and support direct care workers.