KHCA/KCAL Winter Conference Draws Large Crowd

Nearly 200 Long term care providers attend KHCA/KCAL Winter conference in Topeka.

From CNAs to CEOs, the KHCA/KCAL Winter Legislative Conference had something for every one. Attendees spent a whirl wind two days attending informative education sessions and technology demonstrations. They visited the statehouse and hosted legislators at an evening reception. At that event, 12 facilities competed to "showcase" their homes and tell the legislators what they do.  Rossville Healthcare & Rehab Center lead by Administrator Wendy Read won Best of Show.

Only days before the conference, KHCA/KCAL staff received a request from Governor Mark Parkinson’s office to make room on the agenda for him to address the group. During the first day's luncheon, the Governor gave a heart felt message about his personal commitment to elder care in Kansas and challenged the audience to speak with their legislators about alternative funding including tax increases.

Following the conference, KHCA/KCAL CEO Cindy Luxem sent out a briefing of activities and reminded attendees that the legislators had heard them and that they had made the difference.

KHCA has received a copy of the proposed legislation for the Quality Care Investment Act (QCIA) and once it is assigned a bill number it will be forwarded to all members.

Luxem reminded participants that everyone is fighting to have dollars restored to their budgets but that KHCA is the only group that has a solution—The Quality Care Investment Act.

Luxem encouraged members to keep the emails, phone calls and letters flowing to their legislators because their involvement truely does make a difference.  For more information on how you can make a difference, go to the Advocacy page on www.khca.org

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  HOC says to expect delays on background checks

Health Occupations Credentialing (HOC) wanted to pass along some information they received from Leslie Moore with the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.  Leslie advised that, beginning in February 2010, all district courts in Kansas will furlough employees for one week each month.  In May, the furlough will extend to two weeks. 

There are occasions when a criminal history abstract received from the KBI  will be incomplete, or there may be no disposition listed for a case.  When that occurs, HOC staff  writes to the pertinent district court for more information on the case.  In these instances, processing the results of a criminal record check request is lengthened, and that process will take even longer as a result of the furloughs.   HOC director Marla Rhoden is expecting that the furloughs will impact all results submitted to KBI.

If you have questions, please feel free to contact Marla Rhoden, Director
Health Occupations Credentialing
1000 SW Jackson, Suite 200
Topeka, KS   66612-1365
785-296-1281

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  OSHA Form 300 Posting Deadline February 1, 2010

Beginning February 1, 2010, employers are required to post a summary of the total number of job-related injuries and illnesses that occurred in 2009.  The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires that the summary, OSHA Form 300A, be posted from February 1st through April 30th, 2010.

OSHA Form 300A must be displayed in a common area wherever notices to employees are usually posted.  The summary must list the total numbers of job-related injuries and illnesses that occurred in 2009 and were logged on the OSHA 300 form.  Employment information about annual average number of employees and total hours worked during the calendar year also is required to assist in calculating incidence rates.

Companies with no recordable injuries or illnesses in 2009 must post the form with zeros on the total line.  A company executive must certify that the summary is accurate.  Employers with ten or fewer employees are exempt from federal OSHA injury and illness recordkeeping and posting requirements.

Copies of the OSHA Forms 300 and 300A are available on OSHA’s Web site at http://www.osha.gov/recordkeeping/RKforms.html in either Adobe PDF or Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet format.  Please note:  the recordkeeping guide that accompanies the form indicates that it is for use with injuries in 2004.  The process, forms, and requirements are still the same for 2010.

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  February 3, 2010 is the deadline for helpdesk on latest Five Star Preview

Nursing Home Five-Star Reporting Updates

1.    The Five-Star provider preview reports were available beginning Tuesday, January 19, 2010.  Providers can access the report from the Minimum Data Set (MDS) State Welcome pages available at the State servers for submission of Minimum Data Set data.

Provider Preview access information:

 ·       Visit the MDS State Welcome page available on the State servers where you submit MDS data to review your results.

·        To access these reports, select the Certification and Survey Provider Enhanced Reports (CASPER) Reporting link located at the bottom of the login page.

·         Once in the CASPER Reporting system,

         i.    Click on the 'Folders' button and access the Five-Star Report in your 'st LTC facid' folder,

         ii.    Where st is the 2-digit postal code of the state in which your facility is located, and

         iii.    Facid is the state assigned facid of your facility.

2.    The helpline will be open from Tuesday, January 19 until Wednesday, February 3,  2010.  BetterCare@cms.hhs.gov is also available to address any Five Star rating questions and concerns.

3.   Nursing Home Compare will update with January’s Five-Star data on Thursday, January 28, 2010.

4.   Please visit http://www.cms.hhs.gov/CertificationandComplianc/13_FSQRS.asp for the latest Five-Star Quality Rating system information.

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  AHCA provides insight on Consulting Pharmacist Contracts

AHCA has provided KHCA with a discussion of the problems that could arise regarding facility payment for pharmacy consultant services.   A large national consultant pharmacy recently settled with the government in a case involving its alleged provision of consultant services to nursing facilities at less than market value. 

The prohibition against this was laid out in 2008 by the OIG in its Supplemental Guidance Compliance Program Guidance for Nursing Facilities which was provided to AHCA members.  AHCA's memo is available on the KHCA website and is very clear, providing information on an actual alleged violation.  Also on the KHCA "member's only" section of the website is the OIG 2008 guidance.   

Additionally, AHCA’s web site on compliance is comprehensive and very complete.  Please see in particular  – How to Design and Implement a Corporate Compliance Program.  Here is the link for that and a link for a chart on current government Medicare and Medicaid Integrity initiatives. 

http://www.ahcancal.org/facility_operations/ComplianceProgram/Pages/default.aspx

http://www.ahcancal.org/facility_operations/finance/Documents/MedicareMedicaidIntegrity.pdf

Forgot your AHCA member password? Contact us at khca@khca.org and we will be glad to help.

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  Clarity provided regarding 2010 therapy rates

 AHCA and KHCA wants to  make sure that there is clarity regarding the therapy rates that apply through February 28, 2010.  
 
The President signed the Department of Defense Act of 2010 on December 19, 2009. This Act provides a two month zero percent (0%) update to the 2010 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) effective only for dates of service January 1, 2010 through February 28, 2010.  The conversion factor for CY 2010 is $36.0846 for the period of January 1, 2010 through February 28, 2010. The update to the MPFS and the conversion factor are calculated separately.  Therefore, it is not a simple extension of 2009 rates. 

The rates on the AHCA site are new 2010 rates and are effective through the end of February. The bill enacted in December froze the rate of increase (preventing the 20% decrease), but allowed all other changes to be implemented (rvu changes, gpci changes, etc.) which are reflected in the fee schedule posted by AHCA.  For example, the formula for calculating the work value portion of RVUs was changed based on the adoption of a new survey.  This change provided a slight increase in the value of the therapy codes for 2010 – CMS estimated an average increase of about 2 percent. 

The rates posted by AHCA ,which are provided to us by Tony Marshall of the AHCA Florida affiliate, reflect all the changes and are accurate.   They can be found at:http://www.ahcancal.org/facility_operations/medicare/Pages/2010MedicarePartBFeeSchedule.aspx.

Forgot your AHCA member's only password? Contact KHCA at khca@khca.org and we will be glad to help!

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  BBB warns of 2010 Census Email Fraud

An e-mail which falsely claims to be from the Better Business Bureau about the upcoming 2010 Census is inaccurate and BBB is advising consumers to get the facts.

How to Identify a Census Field Representative:
If a U.S. Census Bureau employee knocks on your door, here are some recognition tips to assure the validity of the field representative:

The field representative must present an ID badge that contains a Department of Commerce watermark and expiration date.  The field representative may also be carrying a bag with a Census Bureau logo.
The field representative will provide you with supervisor contact information and/or the Regional Office phone number for verification, if asked.
The field representative will provide you with a letter from the Census Bureau Director on official letterhead.

When Field Representatives will be Going Door-to-Door ?From April to July 2010, we will knock on the door of every household that does not mail back a completed 2010 Census form.
It’s critical that you take just 10 minutes to fill out and mail back your form rather than wait for a census worker to show up on your doorstep. About $85 million in taxpayer dollars are saved for every one percent increase in mail response.
The Census Bureau must get a census form to - and a completed form back from - every residence in the United States.  That’s more than 130 million addresses. This is why the census is the largest domestic mobilization our nation undertakes.

What the 2010 Census DOES NOT Ask
Field representatives will never ask you for your social security number, bank account number, or credit card number.  Census workers also never solicit for donations and will never contact you by e-mail.

The Census is Safe
The 2010 Census will ask for name, gender, age, race, ethnicity, relationship, and whether you own or rent your home - just 10 simple questions that will take about 10 minutes to answer.
Your answers are protected by law and are not shared with anyone.
The Census Bureau safeguards all census responses to the highest security standards available.
For more information about the upcoming 2010 Census visit www.census.gov/2010census

This information came from the following 2010 US Census website:
http://www.bbb.org/us/article/phony-bbb-e-mail-spreads-fiction-about-2010-census;-get-the-facts-14542

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