Consolidated Appropriations and Coronavirus Relief Act: Impact on SNF Part A Services (2/21)

  Full text:  https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/133/text   Sections addressing SNF VBP changes and access to services for hemophilia residents:   SEC. 111. IMPROVING MEASUREMENTS UNDER THE SKILLED NURSING FACILITY VALUE-BASED PURCHASING PROGRAM UNDER THE MEDICARE PROGRAM.       (a) In General.–Section 1888(h) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395yy(h)) is amended–         …

Staffing During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Guide for Nursing Home Leaders (2/21)

A resource guide, written by and for directors of nursing, administrators, and other nursing home leaders, outlines steps to reduce or eliminate urgent staff shortages, particularly shortages of direct care workers. This guide is from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) and Project ECHO, a project of the Agency for Healthcare …

Center for Medicare Advocacy Offers Nursing Home COVID-19 Lessons Learned and Policy Recommendations (2/21)

The Center for Medicare Advocacy released a new report – Geography Is Not Destiny: Protecting Nursing Home Residents from the Next Pandemic – which explores facilities’ responses to the coronavirus crisis and examines how residents’ deaths were not “inevitable”, as some have claimed. The report contends that COVID-19 exploited and exacerbated long-standing …

SNF Consolidated Billing: COVID-19 Monoclonal Antibody Treatment (2/21)

·  CMS Takes Further Steps to Ensure Medicare Beneficiaries Have Wide Access to COVID-19 Antibody Treatment ·  COVID-19 Vaccines and Monoclonal Antibody Infusion: Enforcement Discretion Relating to SNF Consolidated Billing Medicare Monoclonal Antibody COVID-19 Infusion Program Instruction (PDF) (2/16/21)

CDC Strategies for Optimizing the Supply of PPE and Other Equipment (12/20)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offers strategies for optimizing the supply of: N95 respirators Face masks Isolation gowns Eye Protection Gloves Powered Air-Purifying Respirators (PAPRs) Elastomeric respirators Ventilators https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/ppe-strategy/index.html Also see: Summary for Healthcare Facilities: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/ppe-strategy/strategies-optimize-ppe-shortages.html Summary for Healthcare Facilities: Strategies for Optimizing the Supply of N95 Respirators …

CMS QSO Memo: Enhanced Enforcement Actions Based on Nursing Home COVID-19 Data and Inspection Results (2/21)

DATE: June 1, 2020 REVISED 01/04/2021 TO: State Survey Agency Directors FROM: Director Quality, Safety & Oversight Group SUBJECT: Revised COVID-19 Survey Activities, CARES Act Funding, Enhanced Enforcement for Infection Control deficiencies, and Quality Improvement Activities in Nursing Homes CMS is committed to taking critical steps to protect vulnerable Americans …

COVID-19 Survey Activities (3/20)

For more recent information about CMS survey priorities, also see QSO memo QSO-20-31-ALL-REVISED. ————————————————————– Background  CMS is committed to taking critical steps to ensure America’s health care facilities and clinical laboratories are prepared to respond to the threat of the COVID-19 and other respiratory illness. Specifically, CMS is suspending non-emergency …

Patterns in COVID-19 Cases and Deaths in Long-Term Care Facilities in 2020: Kaiser Family Foundation Review (1/21)

For some regions of the country, recent months have brought the worst COVID-19 outbreaks in long-term care facilities since the start of the pandemic, a new KFF analysis of state-reported cases and death shows, underscoring the importance of current efforts to vaccinate this high priority group. A second, related analysis synthesizes the …

CLIA Laboratories Surveyor Guidance for New and Modified CLIA Requirements Related to SARS-CoV-2 Test Result Reporting (1/21)

Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA) Laboratories Surveyor Guidance for New and Modified CLIA Requirements Related to SARS-CoV-2 Test Result Reporting Memo # QSO-21-10-CLIA Posting Date 2021-01-08 Fiscal Year 2021 Summary • CMS is committed to taking critical steps to ensure America’s healthcare facilities continue to be prepared to …

CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Toolkit for SNFs/NFs (1/21)

Long-Term Care Facility Toolkit: Preparing for COVID-19 Vaccination at Your Facility Answering Common Questions About COVID-19 Vaccines This toolkit provides long-term care facility (LTCF) administrators and clinical leadership with information and resources to help build vaccine confidence among healthcare personnel (HCP) and residents. You play a critical role in providing …