2017 Cracker Barrels / Legislative Coffees
SDAHO members are encouraged to meet up with their state legislators at any of these remaining Legislative Coffees/Cracker Barrels. If you hear of others,...
Emergency Preparedness Requirements
Issued in late 2013, this proposed federal rule establishes emergency preparedness requirements for Medicare and Medicaid providers. The goal is for providers to prepare to meet the needs of patients, residents, clients, and participants during disasters and emergency situations.
Nondiscrimination Rule
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Civil Rights, has finalized a regulation that implements nondiscrimination provisions enacted as part of the Affordable Care Act of 2010. Those provisions state that an individual shall not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability.
Skilled Nursing Facility Quality Reporting Program
The IMPACT Act mandates a quality reporting program for skilled nursing facilities. For federal fiscal year 2018 (FY18), SNFs that do not report required quality data to CMS will have their market basket updates reduced by two percent.
2012 Edition of NFPA 101 Life Safety Code
CMS has adopted the National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) 2012 edition of the Life Safety Code (LSC) as well as provisions of the NFPA’s 2012 edition of the Health Care Facilities Code. The 2012 LSC includes important changes from the 2000 edition of the LSC.
Payroll Based Journal Reporting
Effective July 1, 2016, care centers must electronically submit to CMS complete and accurate direct care staffing information, including information for agency and contract staff, based on payroll and other auditable data according to specifications established by CMS. This new system is called Payroll-Based Journal (PBJ).
Revision of Federal Overtime Rules
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a final rule that affects overtime pay for executive, administrative, professional, outside sales and computer employees (the "white collar" exemption). It's currently on hold due to a preliminary injunction.
OSHA Tracking of Workplace Injuries/Illnesses
Finalized May 12, 2016, this OSHA rule calls for electronic submission of injury and illness reports, and states that reports will be posted in a publicly accessible website. It also includes provisions requiring employer policies to support prompt and accurate reporting.
Nursing Home Compare: Six New Quality Measures Publicly Reported
In April 2016, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) began posting data for six new quality measures on Nursing Home Compare. There are four new short stay measures and two new long-stay measures.
Five Star Quality Rating System: Five New Measures Added to Quality Domain
In April 2016, CMS added six new quality measures (QMs) to Nursing Home Compare (see above). On July 27, 2016, CMS added the first five of those QMs to the Five Star Nursing Home Quality Rating System.
