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Cover
Important Reminder on the Timely Claims Filing Requirement for Medicare
By Patti Cullen, CAE
Effective immediately, all claims for services furnished on or after Jan 1, 2010 must be filed with your Medicare contractor no later than one calendar year (12 months) from the date of service – or Medicare will deny them read more...
AHCA/NCAL Quality Award Intent to Apply Deadline Approaches
By Doug Beardsley
Applicants for the 2011 AHCA/NCAL National Quality Award program are required to submit a non-refundable $75 Intent to Apply fee by January 18th in order to be eligible to submit an application. This fee is read more...
Flu Update
By Doug Beardsley
2010 appears to have been an excellent year in terms of minimal flu outbreaks in Minnesota’s long-term care locations. However, your organization should prepare to respond in a flexible way to varying levels of severity by read more...
Changes to Elderly Waiver Service Criteria for 24 Hour Customized Living
By Phil Manz
Now clients who previously qualified for 24 Hour Customized Living services with a need for medication management and 50 hours of service per month must have dependency in two (rather than one) of the following read more...
CMS Delays (But Not for Long) Physician Signature on Lab Requisition Requirement
By Doug Beardsley
CMS initiated a new regulatory requirement that a physician signature must appear on all Medicare laboratory requisitions beginning in 2011. AHCA was successful in delaying the implementation until the second read more...
Committee Activities Are in Full Swing for 2011
By Nancy McCoy
If you are thinking about getting more involved, there is still time to sign up to serve on a committee or two in 2011. Members enjoy the opportunity to network with peers as well as provide guidance as we work read more...
Legislative/On the Hill
Ready, Set, GO! The 87th Legislative Session Convenes on Tuesday!
By Larry Johnson
Committee memberships were announced in the House and Senate. We have posted these lists on our Advocacy website under 2011 Legislative Session. If your legislator is on a committee involved in read more...
New Laws Effective Jan 1, 2011
By Toby Pearson
New laws passed during the 2010 legislative session that take effect on January 1 include changes to landlord-tenant law, modifications of rules on contracts between health plan companies and providers read more...
State News
Personal Needs Allowance to Be $89 on January 1, 2011
By Todd Bergstrom
For 2011, the allowances for clothing and personal needs for individuals receiving medical assistance and residing in any skilled nursing home, intermediate care facility, or medical institution could not be read more...
REMINDER! DHS Holding PACE Listening Session on January 13, 2011—Registration Required
By Larry Johnson
To develop the PACE program at the state level, DHS has announced a listening session to be held in February to generate feedback and ideas from interested stakeholders. This session will be held by read more...
Information on Potential State Application for National “Money Follows the Person” Grant
By Phil Manz
We are sharing the information that was presented at the December 20th videoconference so that members can stay current on this potential public policy initiative. The handouts from the videoconference read more...
Whatever Happened to Care Center of the Future??
By Patti Cullen, CAE
For the upcoming 2011 session, the Care Centers of the Future sponsors have been working on a legislative package that addresses several current and future issues, including defining the circumstances read more...
National News
Senator Klobuchar Joins Others in DOL Letter on Lift Issue
By Patti Cullen, CAE
Senate Aging Committee Chairman Herb Kohl (D-WI) sent a letter to the Department of Labor expressing concern over the prohibition of employees aged 16 and 17 using mechanical patient lifts and read more...
2011 Versions of the ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS Crosswalks Now Available
By Doug Beardsley
CMS has posted the 2011 versions of the ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS crosswalks, formally referred to as the General Equivalence Mappings, on the ICD-10 website. These updated files complete the read more...
National Alzheimer’s Project Act Passes Congress
By Patti Cullen, CAE
On December 15, 2010, the National Alzheimer's Project Act (NAPA) (S. 3036) was passed unanimously by the House of Representatives after passage in the Senate on December 8th. The bill is now read more...
Reminder: No COLA for Social Security in 2011
By Todd Bergstrom
The Social Security Administration has announced that monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for more than 58 million Americans will not automatically increase in 2011 read more...
FDA Recalls
By Doug Beardsley
The FDA has recently recalled products associated with Abbot glucose test strips and Dexamethasone Sodium Phosphate injections. The Abbot glucose test strips are being recalled due to a read more...
OIG Report: Questionable Medicare Billing by Skilled Nursing Facilities
By Patti Cullen, CAE
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General investigation found that SNFs increasingly billed Medicare for higher paying RUGs from 2006 to 2008, even though beneficiary read more...
Health Care Reform
Note Taxability of Two ACA Provisions
By Patti Cullen, CAE
Two provisions of the federal Affordable Care Act of 2010 affect the taxability of employer-provided benefits: health coverage for adult nondependent children and adoption expenses. However, in Minnesota read more...
Suit Filed Challenging Constitutionality of Payment Advisory Board
By Patti Cullen, CAE
The health reform law created the Independent Payment Advisory Board and charged the Board with developing proposals to “reduce the per capita rate of growth in Medicare spending.” The law goes much read more...
Housing, Home and Community-Based Services
New Home Care Regulations Proposal Update
By Doug Beardsley
Because the comment deadline has passed and the legislative session is rapidly approaching, Care Providers of Minnesota sent questions to MDH regarding the next steps in this regulatory change process read more...
DHS Decides to Exclude Class A or Class F Home Care Providers from the Quality Outcome Standards Report to the Legislature
By Phil Manz
Care Providers of Minnesota will seek to learn why Class A and Class F Home Care Providers providing services in Housing with Services establishments are being excluded from this legislation read more...
Quality Initiatives
AHCA/NCAL Quality Symposium Update
By Doug Beardsley
Register now to attend AHCA/NCAL’s third annual symposium on quality performance in long-term care. The conference will take place Feb. 17-18, 2011 at the Marriott Rivercenter Hotel in San Antonio, Texas read more...
What a Difference an Award Makes!
By Lisa Foss Olson
Our 2011 awards program isn’t online yet, but you can check out the 2010 award categories and criteria and start planning your nomination(s). Think of the marketing advantage you have when you can say read more...
Education
Popular Dementia Seminar Returns January 25
By Cyndi Spencer
Caring for Those with Dementia – What Long-Term Care Providers Need to Know will provide essential information and skill-refreshing updates. Topics include stages of dementia, guardianship read more...
MDS 3.0 Webinar Series: Outcomes – Looking at QMs and RUGs IV
By Doug Beardsley
AHCA is providing a free webinar titled “MDS 3.0 Outcomes – Looking at QMs and RUGs IV.” The webinar will take place on January 12, 2011 at 1:00 PM CT. It is free, and no CEUs are offered. To register read more...
Association Activities
CE Letters Mailed for 2010 Committee Participation
By Jason Espersen
Members who served on an Association board, committee, council, and/or work group in 2010, and met the requirements of the Board of Examiners for Nursing Home Administrators, will receive a letter from read more...
Member Resources
Notice of Medicaid/Medicare Benefits Forms
By Todd Bergstrom
The Notice of Medicaid/Medicare Benefits form provides residents or prospective residents information on these rights. The two-part carbonless form provides a copy for the resident's signature, documenting read more...
Regulatory Resources
CMS “Loosens” Wallpaper Documentation Requirements
By Doug Beardsley
CMS issued S&C-11-07-LSC in mid December 2010, which now permits materials applied directly to the surface of walls and ceilings in a total thickness of less than 1/28 in. (0.9 mm) to remain in use read more...
Trends in Life Safety Code Federal Monitoring Surveys
By Doug Beardsley
Recent survey findings/trends that have resulted in deficiencies from CMS Region V Life Safety Code Federal Monitoring Survey inspections include: K17 – Ceilings – Holes of any size in ceiling tiles and read more...
FYI Corner
EStore Updates
By Lisa Foss Olson
The first week in January, we will be updating the eStore on the Association’s website. During that time, orders placed by credit card cannot be handled online, so those orders will need to be called in read more...
Exhibit and Sponsor Opportunities at the MN Student Nurses’ Convention
By Doug Beardsley
The Minnesota Student Nurses’ Association’s annual convention is scheduled for February 19, 2011. You are invited to show your support for the future of the nursing profession by being a sponsor or vendor read more...
Association Office Closed for New Year’s Holiday
By Rachel David
The Care Providers of Minnesota office will be closed on Friday, December 31, 2010 for read more...
Education & Events Calendar
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2011 | |
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Jan. 11 |
Region 2 (Northeast) Meeting, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. in Duluth |
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Jan. 12 |
Region 1 (Northwest) Meeting, noon - 3 p.m. in Erskine |
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Jan. 13 |
Region 3 (West-Central) Meeting, 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. in Fergus Falls |
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Jan. 14 |
Region 4 (East-Central) Meeting, 9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. in St. Cloud |
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Jan. 18 |
Region 6 (Metro) Meeting, 1 - 4 p.m. in Bloomington |
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Jan. 19 |
Region 8 (South-Central) Meeting, 9 a.m. - noon in Winnebago |
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Jan. 20 |
Region 5 (South-West) Meeting, 1 - 4 p.m. in Minneota |
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Jan. 21 |
Region 7 (South-East) Meeting, 9 a.m. - noon in Rochester |
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Jan. 25 |
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Care Providers of Minnesota 7851 Metro Parkway • Suite 200 • Bloomington, MN 55425 Phone: 952.854.2844 • Fax: 952.854.6214 • MN Toll-Free: 800.462.0024 • www.careproviders.org |