Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare AMDA (The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine – Medical Directors) has posted a position statement on appropriate staffing standards for PAC and LTC.  It’s a thoughtful and interesting 4-page read.  The position statement is dated July 22, 2021.  I’ve added bolding to highlight the…… Continue reading Appropriate Staffing Standards in Post-Acute and Long-Term Care

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare Since the launch of the National Partnership, significant reductions in the prevalence of antipsychotic medication use in long-stay nursing home residents have been documented.  The National Partnership continues to work with state coalitions and nursing homes to reduce that rate even further. Recently, CMS announced a…… Continue reading Antipsychotic Medication Use Data

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare OIG (Office of Inspector General) posted this report (same title as this blog) on July 27, 2021.  The report is a 4-page addendum to the December 2020 report. OIG analyzed CMS administrative data on standard surveys that States conducted from February 1, 2020, through May…… Continue reading OIG Report: States’ Backlogs of Standard Surveys of Nursing Homes Grew Substantially During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare In case you’re looking for the coming fiscal years’ wage index, you’ll find the Final index here.  CMS posted the final on July 29, 2021.  The proposed wage index is here in case you want to do some comparison between the two. Bookmark this Wage…… Continue reading FY2022 SNF PPS Federal Wage Index

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare             Late Thursday afternoon, July 29, 2021, CMS issued a final rule updating Medicare payment policies and rates for Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs) under the SNF Prospective Payment System (PPS) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2022.  In addition, the final rule includes several policies that update the SNF…… Continue reading SNF Prospective Payment System: FY 2022 Final Rule Posted

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP  Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare The next CMS Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNF)/Long Term Care (LTC) Open Door Forum scheduled for:   Date:  Thursday, August 5, 2021 Start Time:  2:00 PM – 3:00 PM Eastern Time (ET) Please dial-in at least 15 minutes before call start time. Conference Leaders: Todd Smith &…… Continue reading SNF/LTC Open Door Forum – August 5, 2021

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare The afternoon of July 23, 2021, the Iowa Department of Human Services (DHS) and Iowa Medicaid Enterprise (IME) issued a second Informational Letter relating to Iowa Case Mix. To view this IL, click here to view this document.  It will download to your taskbar where you…… Continue reading Iowa Case Mix Payer Change Form

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare Iowa Department of Human Services (DHS) and Iowa Medicaid Enterprise (IME) released Informational Letter on Friday, July 23, 2021.  Locate this IL here.  Once on this landing page, select IL 2242-MC-FFS: This document will drop down to your taskbar as a download to be opened. “The…… Continue reading Iowa Minimum Data Set (MDS) / Case Mix

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare The July update of Appendix B to the RAI 3.0 User’s Manual contains changes to the list of State RAI Coordinators, MDS Automation Coordinators, RAI Panel members, and CMS locations and contacts. Appendix B … July 29, 2021Changes to Appendix B … July 2021  The changes…… Continue reading July 2021 Changes to Appendix B of the RAI User’s Manual

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare The Five Star Preview Reports will be available on July 19, 2021. To access these reports, select the CASPER Reporting link located on the CMS QIES Systems for Providers page. Once in the CASPER Reporting system, select the ‘Folders’ button, then select ‘My Inbox’ or the…… Continue reading Five-Star Preview Reports Available