E-News Update Articles

Member Update: Senate Ways and Means Committee Files FY2024 Supplemental Bill; COVID Vaccine Updated Recommendations; REMINDER: 2023 Nursing Facility Cost Reports Due April 1st

National Skilled Nursing Care Week (NSNCW) is a great time to celebrate all who live and work in nursing facilities. The national observance will take place from Sunday, May 12 to Saturday, May 18, 2024.

On Thursday, March 7, The Brentwood Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center in Danvers (operated by Marqui Health Services) celebrated the opening of their new Hemodialysis Den.

As previously reported, The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) published a final joint employer rule that was set to go into effect on Tuesday, 3/12 and would have impacted any employer who uses contracted labor including but not limited to temporary nursing services.

Mass Senior Care is pleased to welcome new members to our Association. Our members have demonstrated their commitment to the senior care provider community by joining Mass Senior Care and we are grateful for their support.

Register Now! Enhancing Resident Care and Reducing Unnecessary Resident Hospitalizations in Nursing Facilities: A 5-Part Virtual Interdisciplinary Hospice Education Series Jointly Sponsored by Mass Senior Care Association and the Hospice & Palliative Care Federation of Massachusetts

CMS has issued a concise and helpful fact sheet​ that addresses payment policies associated with administering preventive vaccines to short and long term residents in nursing facilities.

Join Mass Senior Care in celebrating National Long Term-Care Administrator’s Week from March 11-15, 2024!

As part of our ongoing advocacy efforts, we are pleased to share with you the recent op-ed, State must continue to invest in nursing homes, authored by Patrick Stapleton which appeared in the March 8th edition of The Boston Herald.

Massachusetts Senior Care Association is pleased to offer Associate Members sponsorship opportunities and exhibitor booths for the upcoming 2024 Spring Conference & Trade Show on Thursday, April 25, 2024 at the DCU Center in Worcester, MA.

Skilled nursing facilities’ March Quarterly Confidential Feedback Reports for the FY 2025 Skilled Nursing Facility Value-Based Purchasing Program from iQIES is now available.

Member Update: CHIA Releases Annual Report on Massachusetts Health Care System Performance

Member Update: NLRB’s Joint Employer Rule Vacated by Federal Judge; Extension on Authorization to allow nursing practice by use Graduate Nurses and Nursing Students; Webinar Postponed - Connect with Work Authorized Migrants: A Critical Pipeline for New Employees

Member Updates: CMS Announces Medicare Accelerated Payments Eligibility Process for SNFs Impacted by Change Healthcare/Optum Payment Disruption; Final Reminder: For Facilities Billing for SUD Rate Add-Ons Signed Attestation Form is Due March 12th

Please ask your State Representative and Senator to support Mass Senior Care’s FY2025 Nursing Facility Budget Proposal, which would fund vital workforce investments of $128 million in FY2025.

DPH continues to investigate invasive group A streptococcal (GAS) cases and clusters in long-term care facilities (LTCF).

Join the Massachusetts eHealth Institute (MeHI) and the MassCyberCenter on March 14th at 10 am for the monthly health care provider cybersecurity call.

The U.S. House Ways and Means Committee yesterday advanced legislation to bar CMS from finalizing its proposed minimum staffing rule.

We are currently sold out of regular exhibitor booths. Please consider one of our remaining sponsorship opportunities, or contact us to be added to our waitlist!

National Skilled Nursing Care Week (NSNCW) is a great time to celebrate all who live and work in nursing facilities.

Member Update: Reminder: For Facilities Billing for SUD Rate Add-Ons Signed Attestation Form is Due March 12th; DPH Monthly Calls; DPH Guidance on Group A Streptococcal Clusters in Long-term Care Facilities

We urge you to join us on Thursday, March 14th at 11:00am for an interactive webinar with state officials and nursing facility operators who are actively working with local shelters to employ new entrants.

The new electronic death reporting system is on track for an April 2024 launch of the death certificate module of the Massachusetts Vital Records Information Collaborative (MAVRIC) system. The exact date will be announced in the coming weeks.

Member Update: HHS Issues Statement Regarding the Cyberattack on Change Healthcare – New Billing Flexibilities

Member Update: Fiscal 2024 Tax Collections Continue Downward Trend in February 2024; MassHealth Webinars on How to Paper Bill for Providers Impacted by the Change Healthcare Cyberattack; CDC Updates Respiratory Virus Guidance; Paxlovid Emergency Use Authorization Expires on March 8; Healey-Driscoll Administration Announces Expansion of Medicare Savings Program for Older Adults

Member Update: Reminder: Medicaid Alternative Billing Procedures for NFs who may be Impacted by the Change Healthcare Cyberattack

Member Update: Medicaid Alternative Billing Procedures for NFs who may be Impacted by the Change Healthcare Cyberattack

Massachusetts Senior Care Association is pleased to offer Associate Members sponsorship opportunities and exhibitor booths for the upcoming 2024 Spring Conference & Trade Show on Thursday, April 25, 2024 at the DCU Center in Worcester, MA.

In September 2023, CMS released QSO-23-21-NH Updates to Nursing Home Care Compare Staffing and Quality Measures.

National Skilled Nursing Care Week (NSNCW) will take place from Sunday, May 12 to Saturday, May 18, 2024.

Mass Senior Care continues to encourage nursing facilities to vaccinate residents and staff with the currently available COVID-19 vaccine to mitigate the risk of transmission of COVID-19.

We urge you to join us on Thursday, March 14th at 11:00am for an interactive webinar with state officials and nursing facility operators who are actively working with local shelters to employ new entrants.

Per Mass General Laws Chapter 111, section 71C and 105 CMR 150.028 Dementia Special Care Units require all nursing facilities that advertise or hold themselves out to the public as a provider of specialized care to persons with dementia must file a disclosure statement with the Department of Public Health by March 1st each year.

Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development Lauren Jones joined state and local officials, awardees, and partner organizations at Mass Senior Care member facility Broad Reach Healthcare to announce the Healey-Driscoll Administration’s $16.3 million in Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund (WCTF) grants.

Director of Nursing Services Leadership Development Program Tuesdays, 3/12, 3/19, 3/26, 4/2, 4/9, 4/30 And 5/7 3 In-Person and 4 Virtual Sessions, CEUs provided

On March 29, 2023, Governor Healey signed an authorization to continue to allow nursing practice by graduates and students in their last semester of nursing education programs in accordance with guidance from the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Nursing (BORN) until March 31, 2024.

Member Update: Change Healthcare Cyberattack – Nursing Facility Billing

Member Updates: Informal Dispute Resolution Meeting; Important Reminders: Dementia Special Care Unit Disclosure (DSCU) Due March 1; RY24 DCC-Q Interim Filing Deadline is March 1; MassHealth SUD Attestation - Signed Form Due March 12; Authorization to allow nursing practice by use Graduate Nurses and Nursing Students expires March 31, 2024

Massachusetts Senior Care Association is pleased to offer Associate Members sponsorship opportunities and exhibitor booths for the upcoming 2024 Spring Conference & Trade Show on Thursday, April 25, 2024 at the DCU Center in Worcester, MA.

On February 8, CMS MLN Connects newsletter clarified for providers that “…hospice and skilled nursing facility medical directors and administrators are always considered managing employees for Medicare provider enrollment purposes. You must report all current managing employees. If you haven’t reported a medical director or administrator, report them now.”

Massachusetts continues to experience COVID-19 cases in long-term care facility residents and staff. Mass Senior Care urges members to remain diligent in the implementation of infection control measures to mitigate the risk of transmission of respiratory virus and COVID-19.

We urge you to join us on Thursday, March 14th at 11:00am for an interactive webinar with state officials and nursing facility operators who are actively working with local shelters to employ new entrants.

Per Mass General Laws Chapter 111, section 71C and 105 CMR 150.028 Dementia Special Care Units require all nursing facilities that advertise or hold themselves out to the public as a provider of specialized care to persons with dementia must file a disclosure statement with the Department of Public Health by March 1st each year.

This week, the American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) formally announced the upcoming retirement of its President and CEO Mark Parkinson, effective January 15, 2025.

Director of Nursing Services Leadership Development Program Tuesdays, 3/12, 3/19, 3/26, 4/2, 4/9, 4/30 And 5/7 3 In-Person and 4 Virtual Sessions, CEUs provided

MassHealth has announced the formation of a new MassHealth Member Advisory Committee (MAC) in the summer of 2024.

Member Update: Complimentary Webinar Exclusively for MSCA Members on Connecting with Work Authorized Migrants; Reminder: Dementia Special Care Unit Disclosure (DSCU) due March 1st; Register Now for Director of Nursing Services Leadership Development Program; Reminder: MassHealth SUD Attestation - Signed Form Due March 12th

Member Update: MassHealth Issues Updated Nursing Facility Rate Add-on Billing Guidance; EOHHS Updates Instructions and Sample Template for RY24 DCC-Q Interim Filing Update

The Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS), along with the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC), has issued a Request for Information (RFI) to obtain comments from a variety of people about updates to the state’s 2018 Olmstead Plan.

On March 29, 2023, Governor Healey signed an authorization to continue to allow nursing practice by graduates and students in their last semester of nursing education programs in accordance with guidance from the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Nursing (BORN) until March 31, 2024.