AHCA Announces 2018 Award Recipients

The American Health Care Association (AHCA) announced the recipients for the 2018 AHCA Awards program today.  Each year, AHCA recognizes the men and women who selflessly care for individuals in long term and post-acute care centers, and Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (ID/DD) residences.  Honorees demonstrate selflessness, compassion, and strive to enhance the lives of seniors and individuals with disabilities in their communities.  The 2018 AHCA Awards recipients can be found here.  Award recipients will be honored at the AHCA/NCAL 69th Annual Convention in San Diego next month on October 10, 2018.

Are You Ready for the New Not-for-Profit Financial Statements Reporting and Revenue Recognition Standards?

Date: 9/20/2018 2:00pm ET

Registration Link: https://educate.ahcancal.org/p/092018

*Please note this is only “hosted” on the ahcancalED platform, and not a live presentation. Members will be redirected to the registration page after locating the product on ahcancalED through this link.*

Description:

This session will discuss the following:

• Not-for-Profit financial statement standards being updated for the first time in 20 years that will enhance the reporting of expenses both by function and natural classification for all Not-for-Profits and new disclosures on liquidity and more!
• Exchange transactions for Not-for-Profits and Healthcare may be subject to the new revenue recognition standard through the review of the contracts.
• New revenue recognition will significantly affect the practices of most companies and many organizations and is intended to increase financial comparability across industries.

The 2018 AHCA/NCAL Convention & Expo Next Month – Register Today!

A stable workforce directly impacts the quality of care you provide at your centers.  That’s why this year’s convention includes an entire track of programming devoted to workforce issues. You’ll find sessions on recruitment, retention, Payroll-Based Journal (PBJ), and more.  You’ll also share ideas and concerns with other long term and post-acute care professionals who understand exactly what you’re facing on a day-to-day basis.  You are sure to walk away with specific strategies and plans to help you create the strong workforce culture you need to succeed.

So don’t delay.  Get all the details and select the registration package that meets your needs.  Advance registration ends this week on September 21.

Coalition Fights to Keep Medical Expense Deductions in Place

An AARP-led coalition that includes the American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) delivered a letter on Sept. 6 to leading U.S. Senators asking them to continue their fight to maintain the medical expense deduction, which was temporarily extended through 2018 in last year’s tax cut law.  The coalition sent their message to Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Susan Collins (R-Maine), and Rob Portman (R-Ohio), thanking the trio for their leadership in preserving the medical expense deduction last year and urging their continued assistance in keeping it in place after this year.  Pointing to the long history of the deduction, the letter said for the past 75 years Americans with high health care costs have been able to deduct medical expenses from their taxes.  AHCA/NCAL has said that many of these individuals are in long term care, thus making it a significant issue for our members.  Some of the other members of the coalition include the Alzheimer’s Association, American Heart Association, American Psychological Association, March of Dimes, Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, and the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare.

ICF/IID Reports

AHCA's Research Department has released the following June 2018 updates for use by AHCA/NCAL members (Login Required):

·         LTC Stats: Intermediate Care Facilities for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities (ICF/IID) Standard Health Survey Report, June 2018

·         LTC Stats: Intermediate Care Facilities for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities (ICF/IID), Facility and Resident Characteristics, June 2018

The standard health survey report includes Emergency Preparedness (E-tags) this year for the first time.  If you have any questions relating to these reports, which include important ICF/IID state and national data, please contact AHCA’s Research Director, Kiran Sreenivas.

Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Grassroots Advocacy – Facility Visits Over Recess

Holly Jarek, AHCA's ID/DD Committee Chair, encourages AHCA's ID/DD providers to participate in our grassroots advocacy efforts in 2018.  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.

AHCA’s ID/DD Committee members, Renee Naylor (pictured to the left) and Kelly Head-Halladay (pictured to the right), met with Representative Kurt Schrader (D-OR-5), 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 115^th Congress, second session, can be found here.  The U.S. Senate schedule for 2018 can be found here​.