AHCA, Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care Urge HCWs to Voice Concern Over Cuts

The American Health Care Association (AHCA) and Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care are encouraging healthcare workers to contact their legislators and encourage them to "preserve, protect and defend quality skilled nursing and rehabilitative care for seniors and people with disabilities."

The organizations are concerned that planned cuts to Medicare and Medicaid will threaten the senior population's access to quality care and maintain that nursing homes, SNFs and assisted living facilities can both create local jobs and help defend against rising healthcare costs.

To learn more and contact your legislator, click here.

Congress Passes Bill to Create National Alzheimer's Project

This week, Congress voted unanimously to create a National Alzheimer's Project within the Department of Health and Human Services, the goal of which is "to accelerate the development of treatments that would prevent, halt or reverse the course of Alzheimer's" and "improve the early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease and coordination of the care and treatment of citizens with Alzheimer's."

Part of the project is the creation of an advisory council of representatives from agencies such as the CDC, NIH, FDA and Department of Veterans Affairs. The council will draft a yearly report on federally funded programs that involve research, treatment, nursing homes and home care. The report will include recommendations on whether to expand or eliminate any of the programs.

To learn more, click here.

Senate Extends "Doc Fix" for One Month

On the eve of Thanksgiving, the U.S. House of Representatives followed the Senate's lead and voted to extend current Medicare physician reimbursement rates through the end of the year. The "doc fix" legislation was then sent to President Obama, who is expected to sign the bill.

By extending the current reimbursement rate, the House temporarily halted what would have been a 23 percent cut in Medicare physician payments.

To learn more, click here.

Pharmacist Group: Drug Take-Back Law Unclear

Last week, President Obama signed the Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010 into law - but one pharmacist group is saying the new law raises more questions than it provides answers.

The law permits community-based drug take-back programs and law enforcement officials to accept unused controlled prescription medications from long-term care facilities for safe disposal, thereby reducing the risk of the drugs being abused or misused.

However, the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists (ASCP) has criticized the law, saying that it could actually lead to more uncertainty for those in LTC. The law allows the attorney general to establish guidelines for long-term care facilities disposing of medications, but it doesn't require that the attorney general make the guidelines. According to the ASCP, this leaves facilities and pharmacies without clear instructions on how to dispose of drugs.

To learn more, click here.

Courts: Indiana NH Residents Cannot Specify Caregiver Race Preference

A new court ruling in Indiana declared that nursing home residents cannot request treatment from a particular caregiver based on that person's race. All nursing homes in Indiana will soon be notified of the ruling.

At the center of the case is Brenda Chaney, a black CNA who was prohibited from caring for a resident who preferred to be treated exclusively by white caregivers. The ruling found that residents' racial preferences do not supersede a caregiver's civil rights.

To learn more, click here.

Indiana Legislation Would Require Nurse Background Checks

In response to Indiana's governor's decision not to pursue federal matching grants for nursing home background checks, a state senator is introducing legislation that would mandate the checks in all settings.

Senator Patricia Miller's proposed legislation would require healthcare employers to conduct pre-employment criminal background checks. Any information about nurse criminal records that is discovered would also have to be reported to state licensing officials.

Currently, Indiana relies on its 120,000 nurses to self-report criminal history when renewing their licenses. While details of the plan are still emerging, it has been mentioned that one way to help offset the cost of the program is to have nurses help pay for the checks through licensing fees.

Obama Signs Medicare Doc Pay Fix Into Law

On Friday, June 25, President Obama signed a law that that canceled the dreaded 21.3 percent pay cut for Medicare physicians and replaced it with a 2.2 percent pay increase.

The Preservation of Access to Care for Medicare Beneficiaries and Pension Relief Act is retroactive to June 1. CMS expects to start processing claims at the new rate no later than July 1.

To learn more, click here.

Bill Proposes New Funding for Adult Day Centers

The Medicare Adult Day Services Act (H.R. 3043) would permit Medicare funds currently designated for home visits or rehab centers to also be used by adult day programs. It's got the support of numerous advocacy groups for caregivers, yet it's currently stalled in Congress.

Currently, after Medicare participants have spent three days in the hospital, they're eligible to receive Medicare-reimbursed post-acute care at either a rehab facility or nursing home. The care is capped at 100 days a year, but it's crucial for individuals who are well enough to leave a hospital but not quire recovered enough to go back to their pre-hospital lives.

The Medicare Adult Services Act would expand this coverage to include reimbursing properly certified adult day health centers to care for post-acute individuals, including transporting them from their homes to the centers and providing physical and occupational therapy and access to social workers.

The New York Times' New Old Age Blog recently posted an in-depth look at the Medicare Adult Day Services Act. Click here to check it out. The AAHSA has also posted an online form for supporters to contact their representatives in support of the bill.

Senate Ready to Vote on Bill Extending Medicare Physician Pay

The Senate is planning to vote this week on a bill - H.R. 4851 - that would again temporarily halt a 21.2% Medicare physician pay cut. The cut also has implications for Medicare Part B therapy rates for nursing homes.

On Monday night, senators voted to end debate and make their way toward a final vote on a package of bills that includes the Medicare physician pay cut freeze. If passed, higher payments would be extended through April 30. Medicare Part B therapy rates will remain in limbo until action is taken on physician pay.

To learn more, click here.

Medicare Physicians Get Another Temporary Pay Cut Reprieve

While Medicare physicians could still be facing a 21.2 percent pay cut, they aren't facing it right now.

According to an article in McKnight's Long-Term Care News, the government has ordered that claims submitted on or after April 1 be held for an additional 10 days, until Congress returns from recess.

The pending physician pay cut was not covered in the recently passed healthcare reform law. However, there is legislation under debate in Congress that would have further delayed the pay cut - problem is, lawmakers adjourned for April recess before it could be passed.

This is the second time that Congress has delayed the physician pay cut.

CMS Delays Medicare Physician Pay Cut for 10 Days

As of today, Medicare physicians were to begin facing a 21.2% pay cut - but CMS has stepped in and ordered contractors to hold claims for 10 days in the hopes that a solution can be reached in that time.

CMS was compelled to action after the Senate failed to pass legislation that would have extended a number of expiring unemployment benefits and delayed the Medicare pay cut. Last Thursday, the House passed a bill that would delay the pay cut until March 28.

If Congress and the White House are able to enact a delay of the pay cut by the end of the 10-day period and make it retroactive to March 1, physicians shouldn't see any checks come back with the 21.2% cut applied.

The bill's passing is currently being held up by Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Kentucky), who objects to it on the basis that its total cost (about $10 billion) would add to the federal deficit. Roughly $1 billion of the total cost would go toward the physicians' pay freeze. If Bunning doesn't change his vote, the bill will need to go through the regular order, a process that takes more time than a unanimous consent approval.

To learn more, click here.