Our New “Hero”

We are pleased to announce that the 2015 ID/DD Hero of the Year award will be presented to Ms. Kara Larsen, a 15-year veteran at the Mission at West Jordan Care Center, West Jordan, Utah. She will receive her award as a guest of AHCA at the Annual AHCA/NCAL Convention in San Antonio, TX, October 4 to 7, 2015. More details will follow in the next edition of ID/DD Digest. 

AHCA’s ID/DD Committee Member, John Lair, Featured in American Airlines American Way Magazine

Earlier this year, Special Olympics North America announced the selection of John Lair of Pittsburg, Kansas as Special Olympics North America's 2014 Coach of the Year.  According to the April 27, 2015, press release from Special Olympics, “the Coach of the Year Award was established in the late 1980’s and is given annually to an active, certified Special Olympics coach who has met several criteria, particularly their having made a significant and demonstrable impact on local Special Olympics Programs and their communities.  There are over 120,000 coaches within Special Olympics North America, providing instruction and competition in more than 32 sports. The impressive scope and contributions of all those coaches, puts the momentousness of this award into perspective.”  Learn more about John and this prestigious award on the Special Olympics website.

John was featured in the July 2015 edition of the American Airlines American Way Magazine in an article written by Todd Aaron Jensen entitled, Triumph of the Spirit.  You can read the full article here.

Regulations Published for Implementation of ABLE Act

The Internal Revenue Service published proposed regulations concerning the implementation of the Stephen Beck, Jr., Achieving a Better Life Experience Act (ABLE Act) of 2014.  The proposed regulations are titled Guidance Under Section 529A: Qualified ABLE Programs and were published on June 22, 2015.  The regulations address an explanation of provisions, the qualifications of an ABLE program, the standard for disability determination, limits on contributions to the account, and various other issues.  Public comments are due by September 21, 2015.  A public hearing to address these regulations is scheduled for October 14, 2015.  For the full version of the regulations, click here. 

A Day for ID/DD Providers at AHCA/NCAL Convention is Sunday, October 4, 2015

A Day for Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Residential Services Providers will be held on Sunday, October 4, 2015, at the 66th AHCA/NCAL Annual Convention & Expo.  The theme for this year's session is called, “Leading the Charge for Compassionate Care: A Day for Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Residential Services Providers.”  This constituency education program for ID/DD providers is packed with motivational and educational speakers. Charles Bloom, Chief Strategic Officer for the Marquis Companies/Consonus Healthcare in Milwaukie, OR, is the keynote speaker, and will explore and examine with attendees the background of intentional culture and how it can create meaning and purpose in our work. Intentional culture allows us to keep the meaning and purpose in our work, without it, nothing else matters. Participants will also have the opportunity to hear from other educational and top-notch speakers, including CMS.  Learn more about ID/DD Day.  Register today and earn 7.0 CEUs.

AHCA’s State of the States Clearinghouse

AHCA members have access to key Medicaid and Medicare information through the State of the States Clearinghouse.  The AHCA State of the States Clearinghouse is a one stop shop for key Medicaid and Medicare information impacting the long term care profession.   

 

This new resource provides valuable data, including:

• Overview of the demographic landscape;
• State-specific nursing center occupancy and ownership breakouts; 
• Certificate of Need requirements for nursing centers and state licensure requirements; 
• State data on the cost of care for long term services and supports;  
• State data on the total number of Medicare enrollees; 
• Data on state Medicare Advantage plan enrollees and comparisons to the national average; 
• State and national Medicaid expenditure data;
• State Medicaid rates, costs and shortfalls;
• And other significant state-specific data related to payment structure, managed long term services and home and community based services coverage.

AHCA will continue to provide the most up-to-date information through the Clearinghouse and share new data/resources as they become available.  Also be sure to visit the AHCA Medicaid Page to learn more about the program and to access additional AHCA members-only Medicaid resources.

Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Grassroots Advocacy

Renee Naylor, AHCA's ID/DD Committee Chair, encourages AHCA's ID/DD providers to participate in our grassroots advocacy efforts in 2015.  AHCA would like to help you get facility tours and in-district meetings set up over future recess days.  Please provide your name, facility address, and email address and we will craft the invite and send it to you to send to the Congressional office.  The four brief steps for a successful facility tour visit can be found here.  Please feel free to contact Matthew Smyth and Dana Halvorson who can help you with all of the logistics.

Renee Naylor (pictured to the left) and AHCA’s ID/DD Committee member, Kelly Head (pictured to the right), met with Representative Kurt Schrader (D-OR-5) on March 24, during AHCA’s ID/DD Residential Services Providers annual Hill Fly-In event. 

U.S. Congressional Calendars

As you are planning your visits with members of Congress and their staff in Washington, D.C., or in your district, the Congressional calendars will be of assistance to you.  The U.S. House of Representatives calendar for the 114^th Congress, first session, can be found here.  The U.S. Senate schedule for the new Congress can be found here. The dates in black reference the times the U.S. Senate is in session.  The red dates represent when the U.S. Senate is in recess.  

AHCA/NCAL Advocacy App

If you haven’t already heard about it, then we wanted to alert you to a great app that allows you to keep abreast of AHCA advocacy efforts.  Among other things, it provides important talking points, issue briefs and features that allow you to take action.  It will be useful not only to you, but serves as a great way for providers to weigh in.  You can get the app by clicking on the appropriate black box below.

 

Download our advocacy app!

   

VOR Corner

VOR, a national nonprofit organization advocating for high quality care and human rights for people with I/DD, distributes every Friday a weekly e-mail update that can be found here.  VOR promises to empower you to make and protect quality of live choices for all individuals with developmental disabilities.  Ways to get involved with VOR can be found here. 

We’ve Got You Covered! AHCA/NCAL Insurance Solutions Website

The American Health Care Association (AHCA) and National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL) now offers a variety of comprehensive insurance programs to meet your business needs. Backed by the strength of our membership, AHCA/NCAL Insurance Solutions programs are designed with exclusive member savings and discounts for both the fully-insured or self-insured members.

The program offers health insurance options, group and voluntary benefit packages, an aggressive Stop-Loss insurance program as well as cloud based HR platforms that will help members achieve savings and greater efficiencies on HR services within your company, while also tracking and reporting on key Affordable Care Act (ACA) requirements.  For more information, please contact AHCA’s Dave Kyllo at dkyllo@AHCA.org and visit the AHCA/NCAL Insurance Solutions website.  

Articles and Resources of Interest

AHCA/NCAL Announces 2015 Silver National Quality Award Recipients – ahcancal.org
AHCA/NCAL Named Top Workplace by Washington Post – ahcancal.org
Health Tip: Get Enough Vitamin D – healthfinder.gov
A Healthy Body Often Equals a Healthy Brain – healthfinder.gov
What You Should Know for the 2015-2016 Influenza Season – cdc.gov
Increasing Influenza Vaccination among Healthcare Personnel in Long-term Care Settings – cdc.gov
About Alzheimer's Disease: Caregiving – healthfinder.gov
Speech Disorder More Common In Kids With Autism, Study Finds – disabilityscoop.com
Complaint Alleges ADA Violations In Conservatorship Proceedings – disabilityscoop.com
Forum Highlights Needs of Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities At-Risk or Affected by Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias – health.hawaii.gov
Grant Funding Opportunity Announcement:  Request for Proposal (RFP) for Evidence-Based Research from Special Hope Foundation (SHF) and the American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry (AADMD) – aadmd.org

Legislative and Agency Corner

AHCA/NCAL Welcomes Nomination of Andy Slavitt for CMS Administrator – ahcancal.org
AHCA/NCAL Applauds Senate Finance Committee for Approval of NOTICE Act – ahcancal.org

Webinars of Interest

Stay informed and tune in to AHCA/NCAL-hosted pre-recorded and live webinars on a number of topics impacting the long term care profession. 

On Sept. 17, 2015, between 2-3:30pm ET, AHCA will host a webinar entitled, “Strategies for Addressing Workplace Violence in Healthcare Facilities and Ensuring Compliance with OSHA’s New Guidelines.”  Healthcare workers face an increased risk of workplace violence in their work and data suggests that 70% of workplace assaults occur in the healthcare industry.  In response, OSHA recently released an update to its Guidelines for Preventing Workplace Violence for Healthcare and Social Service Workers and it has indicated that it will focus on the hazards associated with workplace violence in all healthcare industry inspections.  The publication includes suggested best practices and provides some insight on how to reduce the risk of violence in various healthcare and social service settings.  Attend our webinar to learn about the new OSHA guidelines and strategies that can help you successfully address the unique challenges that the healthcare industry faces in tackling this workplace challenge.  You can register for the webinar here.

IRS Webinar Series offered on ACA Provisions for Employers and Coverage Providers

According to a July 15, 2015, IRS Tax Tips email alert, “If you’re an employer or health coverage provider, you can attend a series of educational webinars this summer to help you understand the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA’s) employer provisions and related requirements. The IRS is presenting three different webinars in July that will each be repeated in August and September.  The IRS designed these webinars for business owners, tax managers, employee benefits managers and health coverage providers.  All time listed below are Eastern Daylight Time.

Employer Shared Responsibility and Information Reporting
Learn about the ACA’s employer shared responsibility provisions and information reporting requirements for employers and providers of minimum essential coverage.

• July 28, 11 a.m. – 12: 30 p.m. – Click here to register
• Aug. 20, 1 – 2:30 p.m. – Click here to register
• Sept. 16, 1:30 – 3 p.m. – Click here to register

Employer-Sponsored Health Coverage Information Reporting Requirements for Applicable
Large Employers Learn about employer-sponsored health coverage information reporting requirements for applicable large employers, including who is required to report, what information the law requires you to report, and how to complete the required forms.

• July 29, 1 – 2 p.m. – Click here to register
• Aug. 11, 1 – 2 p.m. – Click here to register
• Sept. 10, 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. – Click here to register

Information Reporting Requirements for Providers of Minimal Essential Coverage
Learn about the information reporting requirements for providers of minimum essential coverage, including employers that provide self-insured coverage.  Learn who is required to report, what information the law requires you to report, and how to complete the required forms.

• July 30, 1 – 2 p.m. – Click here to register
• Aug. 26, 1 – 2 p.m. – Click here to register
• Sept. 22, 1 – 2 p.m. – Click here to register 

For more information about the ACA and tax provisions for employers and health coverage providers, visit IRS.gov/aca.”  Please also visit AHCA/NCAL’s ACA website.

I Believe In You

According to Dr. Bryan K. Williams, “I believe in you. Those four simple words are incredibly powerful, yet are not used often enough. While I don’t know for sure, I would bet that most working adults have never heard those words said to them. Regardless of your job title, each person has the direct ability to brighten someone’s day by using those four, simple words. I believe in you..”  To read the full blog posting, please click here. 

Dr. Williams is a consultant, trainer, and author, who focuses on the areas of service excellence and organizational effectiveness.  He has spoken at numerous AHCA/NCAL events, and his passion is to serve others so they may better serve the world.  Here is a link where you can see some of Dr. Williams’ book recommendations on service, leadership and personal development.

National Association of States United for Aging and Disabilities

The National Association of States United for Aging and Disabilities (NASUAD) holds a monthly call or webinar concerning topics of interest to those who work in the field of aging and disability. One of the past calls focused on resources for people with Alzheimer’s and related dementias and their caregivers. Information about future calls, and audio recording of previous ones, can be found here.

Upcoming 2015 Events

Global Summit on Innovations and Health in IDD - July 27-29, 2015
Disability Research Consortium Annual Meeting - Aug 5-6, 2015
The National Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) Conference - Aug 31- Sept 3, 2015
AHCA’s ID/DD Day - Oct 4, 2015
AHCA/NCAL’s Annual Convention & Expo - Oct 4 - 7, 2015
Pediatric Complex Care Association Annual Conference - Nov 4 - 6, 2015   

2015 Health Care Observances

The 2015 AHCA/NCAL Health Care Observances Calendar can be found here.  August marks, among other observances, National Immunization Awareness Month and Medic Alert Awareness Month.