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February 11, 2010 |
Vol. 17, Issue 10 |
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Welcome to this week's edition of the FAHSA
Link.
Two Weeks and
Counting Until Session - Lawmakers
participated in another week of meetings on the
budget. Much of the focus was again on the
continued growth in Medicaid spending.
As deliberations about the
pros and cons of going statewide with managed
care for the Medicaid program escalated,
Governor Charlie Crist reversed his position.
He said he is now willing to consider expanding
the Medicaid reform pilot project created by his
predecessor Jeb Bush. Meanwhile, hospitals and
HMO representatives are duking it out over the
benefits that would be reaped if hospitals were
required to participate. Hospitals claim that
emergency room use is higher for HMO patients
than fee-for-service patients. HMOs contend
that the state can save significantly more
dollars if hospitals were mandated to
participate in managed care.
HMO representatives are
proposing that the law should be changed to give
a hospital three opportunities to negotiate HMO
agreements in counties where Medicaid reform has
been or will be implemented. If an agreement is
not reached, the hospital would receive a
reduction in its Medicaid rate. So far, this
proposal has not been embraced by lawmakers, but
that's not to say it won't be considered if
Medicaid reform goes statewide.
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Mark Your Calendar!
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2010 Legislative
Session Preview Conference Call Scheduled --
Please join us
on February 19 at 2:00 p.m. ET
for a conference call to discuss the 2010
Legislative Session. Larry Overton (Larry Overton
and Associates) and Robert Weissert, Esq., (General
Counsel, Florida TaxWatch) are the featured speakers
along with the FAHSA public policy staff.
This is your opportunity to
learn more about the political tension in
Tallahassee and the budget that Governor Crist has
sent to the legislature for fiscal year 2010-11 and
why legislators are skeptical about it. In
addition, FAHSA's public policy staff will provide
you with an overview of high priority bills that
could affect your organization and elder consumers.
If you hear something during the conference call
that alarms you about a legislative proposal, we
would welcome your suggestions afterwards.
The day before the conference
call, you will receive a link to a PowerPoint
presentation by e-mail that will be posted on our
Web site along with the dial-in number and pass
code. Speakers will refer to the PowerPoint
presentation during the conference call. |
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District/Member News |
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Doing More in a Time of
Less: JCS Makes Passover Special for Seniors
-- During a time of less money, less jobs and less
resources, the Jewish Community Services of South
Florida (JCS) is doing more - by hosting their
annual "Matzah Mitzvah & More" food distribution
event on Sunday, March 21, 2010. On this day,
volunteers will gather to pick up holiday food
baskets and deliver them to 1,600 seniors in their
homes and nursing homes. As the Jewish community
prepares for Passover, these individuals and
families will bring the spirit of the season to
those less fortunate in Miami-Dade County.
"We get out in the community and share not just food
but time with people, some of whom have not had a
visitor in months," said JCS President and CEO Fred
Stock. "It's important to the seniors and it's
important to JCS, to do this mitzvah."
Volunteers will meet at the Greater Miami Jewish
Federation at 4200 Biscayne Blvd. starting at 9:00
a.m. on Sunday, March 21st. For more information on
how you can make a difference at the Matzah Mitzvah
& More Event by participating or by making a
donation, please contact Marian Mendelsohn at (305)
403-6539 or
mmendelsohn@jcsfl.org. |
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Education News
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Prepare to Attend
the Annual Legislative Workshop on March
23-24 - To offset the cost of a flight
to Tallahassee, FAHSA has lowered the
registration fee of the Legislative Workshop
this year. In addition, we have added a
substantial discounted rate for the second
and subsequent participants from your
community to attend the workshop to learn
about the legislative process, visit
legislators and meet other FAHSA members.
Online registration will be available
tomorrow and watch your mail for workshop
brochures!
Register Now for
FAHSA's Next Leadership Course --
Students are now needed for the next FAHSA/UF
Leadership course slated to begin on March
25-26, 2010 in Tallahassee. Residents may
be interested in donating - and participants
can apply for FAHSA's scholarship program to
offset some of the expense. Please consider
sending as many staff as you can.
Register Now!
Join Us for Upcoming Training
Opportunities - Plan to join us for
the following educational opportunities:
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February 16, 2010 - Detecting
Abuse and the Hotline Free
Conference Call
- February
25, 2010 -- CNA Train the
Trainer, Orlando
- March
16, 2010 - Medicaid Integrity
and RAC Webinar
- March 23
& 24, 2010 - Legislative
Workshop, Tallahassee
- March 25
& 26, 2010 - Leadership Academy,
Tallahassee
- March
30, 2010 - RUGS4 Webinar
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General News |
FAHSA Staff Testify Before Select
Policy Council on Strategic & Economic
Planning -- Janegale Boyd, FAHSA's
President/CEO, and Erwin Bodo, Ph.D.,
FAHSA's COO testified this week in front of
the Senate Health and Human Services
Appropriations Committee and the House
Select Policy Council on Strategic &
Economic Planning. Their topics included
falls prevention programs in nursing homes
and a discussion of suggestions related to
Medicaid Long-Term Care Services reform.
You can download a copy of Erwin's
presentation from the
FAHSA website.
There were very few questions as time was
short and legislators focused more on the
really big picture and questioned those
presenters that proposed drastic changes to
the current Medicaid program. Among some of
the more interesting proposals were:
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Convert all of Medicaid services to be
provided under managed care - offered by
the Florida Association of Health Plans
(FAHP)
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Serve all intermediate care nursing home
residents through the Medicaid Capitated
Diversion Waiver - offered by American
Eldercare Services.
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Implement a Medical Home based model -
offered by AARP.
FAHSA is maintaining a position that we need
to build on the strength of the current
system, maintain our investment in quality
services, and link expectations to
reimbursement, while offering choices to our
needy. The strong nonprofit aging network
offers good potential for cost savings if
diversion efforts are funded properly and
care coordination is enhanced. Given the
dramatic increases in the elderly population
Florida is going to endure, we must retain a
financially strong nursing home sector in
the long-term care continuum.
But the winds are blowing in the direction
of some sort of managed care model. Most
legislators are curious about the
substantial savings the FAHP and the
American Eldercare proposals predict. At
the same time, there are concerns about
"putting all of our eggs in one basket."
Stay tuned.
FAHSA General Membership Alert Page |
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Housing News |
Hold Tight -- Snow Storm Causes Havoc
for Members Trying to Reach TRACS
Offices - Today makes the fourth day
that federal offices in Washington, D.C.
are closed due to inclement weather
conditions. Members who have questions
or concerns are not able to reach the
appropriate persons and the TRACS
Hotline 800-767-7588 refers you to
numbers that says leave a number then
says mail box is full. According to
Colleen Bloom, Associate Housing
Director, AAHSA, don't expect a major
change/improvement in the system before
next week and don't leave secure
information in the general
tracs@hud.gov e-mail site. Luckily,
everything should be back up and running
by next week, as long as the weather
cooperates.
Other Housing News
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Special Claims Checklist
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FAHSA's Housing Conference Call
Schedule
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FAHSA's 2010 Legislative Session
Conference Call
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Legislative News |
Nominate Someone for
FAHSA's Outstanding Advocacy Award --
This year, FAHSA's Outstanding Advocacy Award
will be presented during FAHSA's Annual
Legislative Workshop on March 23 and March 24,
2010, in Tallahassee. The award is given to a
FAHSA member or group of members that have gone
above and beyond the usual to promote FAHSA's
public policy agenda and educate lawmakers about
long-term care and senior housing. Previous
recipients have had long histories of
participating in grassroots advocacy activities
-- including testifying at legislative
delegation meetings and cultivating
relationships with individual legislators.
If you would like to nominate someone who has
made an outstanding contribution in the area of
advocacy, please submit a nomination to FAHSA by
March 12, 2010 by filling out the nomination
form and writing a letter summarizing why you
think the nominee is deserving of the award. We
have received one application but would welcome
others. The Awards brochure is available for
download under the Quality tab on the FAHSA web
site or by
clicking here.
Call for Nominations for FAHSA Legislative
Service Award - Please consider submitting
the name of a state senator or representative
who you thing is deserving of special
recognition by the Association. The award is
reserved for a member of the Florida House of
Representatives or Senate who has a history of
pursuing legislation that is sensitive to the
needs of FAHSA members and the elder Floridians
they serve. The award will be presented at our
legislative workshop on March 23 in Tallahassee.
Nominations are requested by March 12. Two
nominations have been received to date, but we
would welcome others.
Fix to Unemployment Insurance Compensation Tax
Rate on Fast Track
-- As promised, the House is moving quickly to
craft language to provide businesses with relief
from the huge increase in Unemployment Insurance
Compensation tax rate that took effect in
January. The House Economic Development and
Community Affairs Policy Council adopted a
proposal this week that is expected to reduce
the UI tax increases by 39 percent and allows
businesses to pay the tax in quarterly
installments without penalties. Without relief,
the tax rate for businesses will increase from
$8.40 an employee in 2009 to $100.30 this year.
Rep. Jennifer Carroll, R-Fleming Island,
presented the proposal to the council and
appears to be taking the lead on this issue.
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Nursing Home News |
Higher IJ Citations for Failure to Clean
Glucometers Between Residents
-- AAHSA reported this week that they
are hearing about an increased number of
Immediate Jeopardy citations resulting from
failure to clean glucometers between residents /
uses. Please click on the Nursing Home Alert
(NH10-04) to read more about this and other
topics listed below.
Other Nursing Home
News:
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Workgroup to Develop a
Standardized Discharge Abstract to be
Adopted in Florida
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CMS Now Accepts CMP
Waiver Notices Via Internet
FAHSA Nursing Home Alert
Page
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Preferred Business Associates News |
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 FAHSA's
Preferred Business Associates Program (PBAs)
-- A list of PBAs can be found by on
the FAHSA Web site
www.fahsa.org and
selecting Preferred Business Associates from the
left side menu bar or clicking on the FAHSA
Preferred Business Associates Page hyperlink.
FAHSA members can also use the on-line directory
to search for PBAs by specialty.
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Career Center |
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Welcome to the Florida Association of
Homes and Services for the Aging Career Center!
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opportunities and the best resource for
qualified candidates in the Florida Aging
Services Industry. Searching for a job in Aging
Services?
Looking to fill a position? This job board is
custom tailored for the Aging Services industry,
which means we attract the most qualified
professionals in Florida.
Create an Employer Account,
search resumes and post your Aging Services job
now!
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Copyright 2010 -- Publication of the Florida
Association of Homes and Services for the Aging
(FAHSA).
- FAHSA Chair: Terri Cunliffe
- FAHSA President/CEO: Janegale Boyd
- Managing Editor: Gail Matillo, MPA, COS
Copyright Information: Copies of the articles
and other information in this publication may be
noncommercially reproduced for the purpose of
educational or scientific advancement.
Otherwise, no part of this publication may be
reproduced or utilized in any form or by any
means, mechanical or electronic, including
photocopying, microfilm and recording, or by any
information storage and retrieval system,
without the written permission of the editor.
Correspondence: Should be addressed to: Editor,
1812 Riggins Road, Tallahassee, FL 32308. For
telephone inquiries, call (850) 671-3700. Or
E-mail FAHSA at info@fahsa.org. © 2010 FAHSA.
All rights reserved.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this
correspondence is not intended as a substitute
for legal advice. Please discuss any information
gathered from this or any other FAHSA
publications with your legal counsel in the
context of your particular situation before
implementing any new policies or procedures.
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