Join PCQPAC at our FREE Webinar: How to Calculate your CMS Star Rating

· Date & Time: Thursday, February 13th from 1:00pm to 2:30pm

· Duration: The webinar will last 90 minutes

· Credits: This educational offering is pending approval for 1.5 hours of NHA Credit

· Cost: NONE

· Session Description: How are CMS Stars calculated? How can I utilize the CMS Technical Guide to increase my facility’s star rating in quality measures? This webinar will explore what skilled nursing facilities need to know about the CMS star system.

o This webinar will start out with a brief overview of the CMS star rating system.

o Next, we will highlight recent updates from the Oct. 5th Technical Guide

o We will explore how you can utilize the information in the CMS Technical Guide to increase your facility’s star rating. The webinar will include a step-by-step guide to increase your 5-star rating including the use the use of the CASPER report, where to find the additional information and how to increase your point totals.

· Speaker: Paul Lieber, VP of Healthcare Operations at JDK Management and PCQPAC Board Member/ Treasurer

· To register: Please RSVP to Cassie Reed at cassier@capozziadler.com or 717-233-4101. Provide your name, company, and job title. If you need NHA credit, please provide Cassie with your NAB ID #. Cassie will send you webinar login information via email within 2 weeks of the webinar.

Philadelphia Inquirer: "Patients on ventilators caught in the middle as nursing homes bleed money"

A recent Philadelphia Inquirer article highlights the need for higher Medicaid reimbursement for skilled nursing facilities who care for ventilator and tracheotomy patients.

The article states "Boroughs and hundreds of other Pennsylvania residents have been caught in a squeeze between the state and nursing home operators who say it costs as much as $200 more per day than what the state is reimbursing them for the care of patients like Boroughs. If the state can’t come up with more money, providers warn that Pennsylvania could see a cascade of nursing home closures. While it’s not unusual for nursing homes to bemoan low Medicaid rate, significant fallout has already started among nursing homes with beds for ventilator-dependent patients."

Senate Bill 959 seeks to provide additional Medicaid funding ($130/day) to nursing facilities who provide ventilator and tracheostomy services. The legislation was introduced on November 6th and has been referred to the Health and Human Services Committee. More information on this potential legislation can be found in the Senate Memorandum and a recent PennLive Article.

PCQPAC supports Senate Bill 959 and other actions to provide additional Medicaid reimbursement to skilled nursing facilities who care for ventilator and tracheostomy patients, some of the most vulnerable of Pennsylvania's citizens.

Coalition Formed to Address Transition to Statewide Medicaid Managed Care

For Immediate Release

September 5, 2019

Harrisburg, PA - The Pennsylvania Coalition for Quality Post-Acute Care (PCQPAC), a not-for-profit 501(c)6, has formed to advance the interest of its high-quality, Medicaid-certified, long-term care nursing facility providers as the Commonwealth transitions from the traditional Medicaid fee-for-service reimbursement program to the new Community Health Choices (CHC) Medicaid program.

CHC is Pennsylvania’s mandatory managed care program for individuals who are eligible for both Medicaid and Medicare, older adults and individuals with physical disabilities. CHC was implemented in the southwest region of the Commonwealth beginning January 1, 2018, in the southeast region January 1, 2019 and will be implemented statewide beginning January 1, 2020.

Among the stated goals of Community HealthChoices is to enhance quality care and create accountability for advancing that goal by measuring and publishing quality metrics so Medicaid patients can make informed choices.

PCQPAC was founded to advance the goal of quality care by:

• Facilitating the ongoing contracting between high-quality member facilities and the CHC MCOs;

• Ensuring that PCQPAC member facilities will be reimbursed sustainable rates so they can continue their mission of providing quality care;

• Ensuring that Pennsylvania’s Medicaid consumers will continue to have an adequate network of high-quality skilled nursing facilities to choose from in their communities; and

• Working with our partners, the Department of Human Services (DHS) and the CHC MCOs to enhance program quality by incentivizing quality care through enhanced payment for that quality care. PCQPAC intends to work with DHS and the MCOs to assist in establishing quality parameters for contracting and payment.

High-quality, 3-5-star Medicaid certified nursing facilities interested in joining PCQPAC can reach out to Capozzi Adler, general counsel, for additional information.

About PCQPAC

PCQPAC is comprised of multiple for-profit, not-for-profit, hospital-based and general skilled nursing facilities that are enrolled in the Commonwealth’s Medical Assistance Program and all have been rated 3-5-star overall quality facilities by the Federal Government’s Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Currently PCQPAC has 18 skilled nursing facility members located throughout the Commonwealth and that number continues to grow as members join to advance the goal of maintaining the Commonwealth’s network of high-quality skilled nursing care providers in the challenging new environment of Medicaid Managed Care.

Contact:

Linda Gussler

lindag@capozziadler.com

717.233.4101

Dan Natirboff, Esquire

dann@capozziadler.com

717.233.4101