We Need You for Our Social Media Initiative

 AHCA/NCAL began a social media advocacy initiative last year and is encouraging all members to get involved.  The effort focuses on improving the overall image of the post-acute and long term care profession by sharing positive stories and pushing back on pieces that attempt to tie all providers to isolated negative events.

AHCA/NCAL will be sending interested members tips for getting more involved on social media, best practices for posting content, sample posts, and a roundup of positive stories about the profession on a regular basis. Individuals who want to get involved should email socialmedia@ahca.org to get on the mailing list.

The campaign also will include a rapid response to stories that are unfairly negative about the profession or do not accurately portray the reality of post-acute and long term care. AHCA/NCAL hopes to build on these successes as the year continues. With thousands of buildings nationwide who touch the lives of millions of people, there is the chance to seriously affect the way the profession is viewed and treated by lawmakers and the media.

Coronavirus

Visit the AHCA/NCAL Coronavirus website daily for the latest information that we have to share with long term care providers about COVID-19.  As concerns arise with the emerging coronavirus, officially named COVID-19, we are working nationally with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to ensure our long term care communities receive necessary supplies and guidance to prevent the spread of this disease.

Articles and Resources of Interest

• Preparations for the Upcoming Flu Season
• COVID-19 Disproportionately Impacting Those With Developmental Disabilities
• Navigating Resident Outings, Medical Appointments, and Everything in Between

Legislative and Agency Corner

• Free Webcast: A Primer on ABLE Accounts
• Update to Paid Leave of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act
• Government Agency Recommends Ending Subminimum Wage
• CMS Pulls the Medicaid Fiscal Accountability Rule (MFAR)
• ASPR Releases a New Toolkit

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.

2020 Health Care Observances

October 2020 marks, among other observances, Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The 2020 Healthcare Observances Calendar can be found here.

CMS to Return to Normal Survey Process

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a Quality, Safety & Oversight (QSO) memo to states August 17 instructing them to return to normal survey process as soon as resources in the state allow and in accordance with states' reopening plans. It also provides guidance on how to resolve pending enforcement actions suspended as a result of prior QSO memos on March 23, 2020 and June 1, 2020 that suspended some survey enforcement actions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

On March 23, 2020, CMS issued the QSO 20-20-All memorandum, which limited survey activity to focused infection control surveys. On June 1, 2020, CMS issued the QSO 20-31-All memorandum that provided survey re-prioritization guidance to transition to more routine oversight and survey activities. This latest memo instructs states to restart all normal surveys as possible.

CMS intends to resolve suspended enforcement cases and provide guidance for closing them out going forward starting today. This process involves four components that are described in the QSO memo:

1. Expanding the Desk Review policy for Plans of Corrections (POCs); 
2. Processing enforcement cases that were started BEFORE March 23, 2020; 
3. Processing enforcement cases that were started ON March 23, 2020, THROUGH May 31, 2020; and 
4. Processing enforcement cases that were started ON OR AFTER June 1, 2020.

CMS is also issuing updated guidance for the re-prioritization of routine state survey agency (SA) Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) survey activities, subject to the SA’s discretion, in addition to lifting the restriction on processing CLIA enforcement actions, and issuing the Statement of Deficiencies and Plan of Correction (Form CMS-2567) for CLIA citations.
Providers with questions about past enforcement actions suspended during the pandemic should contact their state survey agency for guidance as there are many scenarios that may not be fully addressed by this memo.

Per CMS, questions about a specific enforcement cycle may be addressed with the specific CMS location.

• Long-Term Care questions should be addressed to: DNH_Enforcement@cms.hhs.gov
• CLIA questions should be addressed to: LabExcellence@cms.hhs.gov

General questions for AHCA should be sent to COVID19@ahca.org.