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July 15, 2010 |
Vol 17, Issue 31
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Welcome to this week's
edition of the FAHSA Link!
Medicaid Staff Unveils Changes to Reimbursement
System -During
a rule workshop held on July 13, Medicaid staff
unveiled 14 different changes to the nursing
home reimbursement system that may be
implemented in the near future. FAHSA's
consultant, Dr. Erwin Bodo, attended the meeting
to represent your interests. Medicaid will be
releasing the July 1, 2010 provider rates this
week. Dr. Bodo has the database and will be
happy to discuss your specific rate, if you have
questions. We anticipate that with the over $6
billion shortfall projected for fiscal year
2010-2011, draconian cuts will be implemented
during the 2011 Legislative Session, if not
sooner during a special session. It is not too
early to prepare. Read this week's Nursing Home
Alert (NH10-24) for more information.
Talk of Another Special Session in Early
September --
Today, Senate
President Jeff Atwater released a letter to
Speaker Larry Cretul regarding the upcoming
Special Session. Based on the letter, proposals
could be delayed until the end of August or
early September. The timing, referred to in the
letter, would likely indicate that a
constitutional amendment to ban drilling in
Florida waters would not make it on the ballot
due to the August 4th deadline. This is a
developing issue that could change again. Read a
copy of Senate President Atwater's letter by
clicking here.
House Speaker
Larry Cretul responded to Senator Atwater's
letter and agrees to look for alternative dates
for a special session no earlier than
September. Rep. Cretul responds, "Accordingly,
legislators can expect their stay in Tallahassee
to be very short next week but in the coming
weeks you can expect to be recruited for
numerous legislative efforts to identify and
craft solutions to problems related to the oil
spill." Read House Speaker Larry Cretul's
response letter by
clicking here.
Count Down to Convention
-- There's still time to register for FAHSA's
47th Annual Convention & Exposition. On Monday
through Wednesday, from 8:00 to 8:30 a.m., join
us before the General Sessions for special
presentations to recognize members and
exceptional FAHSA programs. Then, plan to
attend more than 35 educational sessions
featuring 60+ speakers presenting timely and
interesting topics, enjoy the exhibit hall, bid
on items in the Silent Auction and network with
colleagues and friends. Boca is the place to be
beginning Sunday, July 25, 2010. Hotel rooms
are still available at the discounted rates,
register today!
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ALF News
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"Altered Mental State" Or Baker Act?--
A FAHSA nursing home member recently took one of
their residents to the emergency room (ER) because
the resident was exhibiting an "Altered Mental
State." The nursing home was later cited by the
Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) for
failure to Baker Act the resident. AHCA indicated
that even though the patient's physician ordered the
ER visit for Altered Mental Status, the physician
should have Baker Acted the resident for dangerous
behavior. The Surveyor stated that when a patient
is sent for Altered Mental Status, the ER physician
will review the resident's medical condition and
rule out a stroke or other medical reason and may
immediately return the resident to the facility. In
such cases, the ER physician has no legal duty to
consider the behavioral issues and initiate the
involuntary examination under the Baker Act.
Continue reading this story by clicking on this
week's
Nursing Home Alert (NH10-24).
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Education News
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Order Your Copy
of the Background Screening Webinar -- If
you missed the Background Screening Webinar
yesterday featuring Molly McKinstry, Agency for
Health Care Administration and Tim Giesecke,
Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the
webinar and audio was recorded. Place an order
to download a copy of the webinar and watch with
your staff. To receive two contact hours, take
the 10-question test, and fax a copy of it along
with the completed CE Broker form to FAHSA. To
order your copy,
click here.
Order Your New Two-Hour Domestic Violence and
Human Trafficking DVD Now -- FAHSA has
developed a NEW
Domestic Violence and Human Trafficking DVD
featuring Robin Thompson, M.A., J.D., an expert
in domestic and sexual violence law and policy
analysis, program evaluation, and facilitation.
Order your new DVD now, by downloading a
copy of the
order form. Either mail or fax the order
form to FAHSA, 1812 Riggins Road, Tallahassee,
FL 32308, fax: (850) 671-3790 with your check or
credit card information.
Join Us
for Upcoming Training Opportunities:
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General News |
AHCA Releases
Background Screening Letters to Providers --
AHCA has
issued New Vendor Announcement letters to all of
their licensed providers regarding the 2010
changes related to background screening. The
changes will take effect on August 1, 2010. For
more information and to read the letter, click
on the General Alert link below.
Florida Department of Health Announces New
Website to Compare Nursing Education Programs --
The Department
of Health (DOH) announced the creation of a new
website to compare nursing education programs.
Through an interactive search, users can now
view each degree program, including practical
nursing education programs, as well as
professional nursing education programs that
result in a diploma, associate's degree or
bachelor's degree. The new website also enables
the public to compare nursing programs by
viewing the program's status (approved,
accredited, or approved/probationary), the
accrediting body, graduate passage rates, and
retention rates for students tracked from
program entry to graduation. The website offers
consumers the opportunity to participate in a
customer satisfaction survey and provide
feedback regarding the new website.
Click here for the new webpage.
Other General News
- Background Screening Requirements
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HCBS News
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Miami Herald Reports Magnitude of Medicaid Fraud in
South Florida Grows
-- South Florida's Medicare schemers are now
cheating hundreds of millions of dollars from
taxpayers by billing the system for bogus mental
health, physical therapy, and other rehabilitation
services. The Herald reports that the magnitude of
the region's fraud is astonishing: Florida mental
health clinics submitted $421 million in bills to
Medicare last year -- about four times more than
Texas and a whopping 635 times higher than Michigan,
according to government records.
Florida
rehabilitation facilities billed $310 million for
physical and speech therapy -- 140 times more than
New York and 10 times higher than California,
records show. Not all of that activity is criminal.
But Florida's numbers are so much higher than other
major states' that officials say the only logical
explanation is fraud -- the bulk of it in
Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties.
Law enforcement and
health care officials say that mental health and
rehabilitation providers are the latest agents of
pervasive theft in South Florida, long considered
the nation's epicenter of Medicare corruption. The
services are not needed or provided, yet the federal
program for the elderly and disabled still foots the
bill.
The problem of
Medicare corruption will take center stage on
Friday, when Attorney General Eric Holder and Health
and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius hold
the nation's first health care fraud summit in
Miami. The issue has gained a higher profile as the
Obama administration pushes ahead with the expansion
of government-subsidized health care for more than
30 million uninsured Americans. Read more by
clicking here.
Older American's Act Celebrates 45 Years
-- The Older American's Act (OAA) was the first
federal level initiative aimed at providing
comprehensive services for older adults. It created
the National Aging Network comprising the
Administration on Aging on the federal level, State
Units on Aging, and Area Agencies on Aging at the
local level. It is an important landmark in our
country's commitment to meeting the needs of older
adults.
In a statement
released by AAHSA's President and CEO Larry Minnix,
"We urge Congress to increase funding for these
programs by the 7.4 percent requested in the
president's budget for next year. A funding increase
would ensure that individuals continue to receive
the care and services they need to age with dignity
and independence. As our nation's aging population
continues to grow, an investment in the OAA is an
investment in security and safety for the future.
And that's a future where all older
Americans receive the services they need, when they
need them, in a place they call home."
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Housing & Service Coordinator News
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Changes to HUD
Handbook 4350.1 Effective August 1, 2010 --
Changes to Chapter 6,
Conducting Management Reviews, has been posted
to HUDClips. The effective date for HUD and the
Performance Based Contract Administration (PBCA)
use of this chapter is August 1, 2010. To
download a copy of the changes,
click here.
Other Housing News:
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Section 202 and 811 Awards Announced
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Healthcare.gov Website Released
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Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH)
Requirements Webcast Training Opportunity
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Legislative News |
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Federal Anti-Arbitration Legislation
Emerges Again --
AAHSA reports
renewed activity in Washington in the House
Judiciary Committee on H.R. 1237, the Fairness
in Nursing Homes Act, and H.R. 1020, the
Arbitration Fairness Act. Both of the proposed
federal legislation will prohibit pre-dispute
arbitration clauses - in nursing home/assisted
living entry documents under H.R. 1237 and in
consumer contracts generally under H.R. 1020.
The Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and
Administration Law discharged the two bills June
21 and the full committee is expected to take
them up sometime this month. Consumer groups are
lobbying heavily in favor of the legislation.
We must strongly oppose. AAHSA has posted
grassroots materials on Contact Congress for the
members.
Please paste the following web site link into
your browser to be directed to the Capwiz
website to send a message in opposition to your
Congressmen.
http://capwiz.com/aahsa/issues/alert/?alertid=15226316
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Nursing Home News |
Background Screening Requirements Take Effect
August 1
-- AHCA has issued letters to their licensed
providers regarding the 2010 changes related to
background screening. These changes take effect
on August 1, 2010. Read more about these
changes in this week's General Alert, GEN10-12.
Other Nursing Home News:
- Nursing Home
Medicaid Reimbursement Update
- Civil Money
Penalties for Nursing Homes (CMS-2435-P)
- Timely Filing
Limit for Nursing Facility Medicare Part A
Claims
- Nursing Home
Poster Update
- "Altered
Mental State" or Baker Act?
- NFPA Safety
Alert - Antifreeze in Sprinkler Systems
- Board of
Nursing Home Administrators Meeting
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Preferred Business Associates News |
 FAHSA's
Preferred Business Associates Program (PBAs)
-- A list of PBAs can be found by on
the FAHSA website
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!
Your destination for
exciting Aging Services job 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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