The agency budget by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services released this week includes essential resources for the state’s long-term care (LTC) provider community, including adding the Family Care Direct Care Workforce Funding (which was passed as a part of the last budget) to the Medicaid base re-estimate, as well as funding the acuity of the state’s skilled nursing facilities.
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Wisconsin Health Care Association/Wisconsin Center for Assisted Living President & CEO John Vander Meer spoke to Wisconsin Health News about workforce issues and other budget priorities.
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The Wisconsin Department of Health Services is proposing, as a result of a federal act forcing cuts to the reimbursement of portable, stationary, liquid, and gaseous oxygen and related equipment, to include certain billing codes in the Medicaid FFS SNF daily rate.
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WHCA/WiCAL is pleased to continue celebrating the great work of Wisconsin's hard-working long-term care providers with the 2018 Shining Star Awards. The deadline for nominations is...
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Believe it or not, the WHCA/WiCAL 67th Annual Fall Convention is right around the corner! The 2018 Fall Convention will be held October 17-19 at...
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The Wisconsin Long-Term Care Workforce Alliance Held its September meeting earlier this week providing informational updates on workforce issues in the state’s LTC workforce.
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Skilled nursing facility and nursing facility (SNF/NF) providers should be geared up and ready to begin offering the seasonal influenza vaccine to residents. F883 requires that each resident is offered an influenza immunization October 1 through March 31 annually, unless the immunization is medically contraindicated, or the resident has already been immunized during this time period.
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On Monday, September 17, 2018, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a press release announcing: “a proposed rule to relieve burden on healthcare providers by removing unnecessary, obsolete, or excessively burdensome Medicare compliance requirements for healthcare facilities.”
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The American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) is excited to announce the release of a new LTC Trend TrackerSM report, “Your Quality Initiative Progress.”
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This session will focus on the Resident Assessments/Accuracy of Assessments Regulations including, but not limited to, F-Tag 636- F-Tag 642, with a review of the regulations and an analysis of the associated Interpretive Guidance. A review of survey procedures used to guide the investigative process will be discussed. Actual citation examples will be shared and discussed. Tools to assist the facility interdisciplinary team in monitoring compliance and incorporating into the facility QAPI processes will be discussed.
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The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has released a report on risk adjustments for payments to Medicare Advantage Plans: “Medicare Advantage: Benefits and Challenges of Payment Adjustments Based on Beneficiaries' Ability to Perform Daily Tasks,” GAO-18-588, published September 10, 2018. The following excerpts are from the “Fast Facts” and “Highlights” of this report.
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Notice has been sent to people, businesses and organizations that are owed money by Atrium Health & Senior Living to file claims by the deadline of Dec. 14.
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Long-term care stakeholders have a few short weeks to set themselves up for success in next year's state budget.
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Various medical items, including soaps and rubber gloves, were removed from a list of potential tariffs shortly before the list was made final Tuesday evening. The list details approximately $200 billion in goods that the United States imports from China.
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The West Wisconsin Railroad Club is hosting its annual model train show in Eau Claire, and is offering FREE admission to nursing home, senior living and assisted living residents – their host residential facility simply needs to provide the transportation to the Sports Center.
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The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) has confirmed 16 additional cases of severe bleeding caused by the use of synthetic cannabinoids containing rat poison. That brings the total number of people affected in this outbreak to 80. The counties with confirmed cases include Dane, Milwaukee, Outagamie, Rock, and now Fond du Lac. These cases have ranged in age from 16 to over 50 years old. To date, there has been one death in Wisconsin associated with this outbreak.
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The National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL) is preparing for the 2018 election at its annual convention in San Diego, CA.
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On Saturday, Oak Ridge Care Center will host the community for a 50th Anniversary celebration.
The event will include fun activities for all ages, including a bounce house, door prizes, and a petting zoo. Local dignitaries have also been invited to attend.
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Under Wisconsin law, facilities relocating five or more residents must file a resident relocation plan with the Department of Health Services, Division of Medicaid Services. A facility must not begin discharge planning for any of its residents until the Division of Medicaid Services (DMS) has approved the facility's resident relocation plan.
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Get ready for National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM), which is observed every October. It was created as a collaborative effort between government and industry to ensure every American has the resources they need to stay safer and more secure online. 2018 marks the 15th year of National Cyber Security Awareness Month. Cybersecurity is especially important to members as the healthcare industry is expected to remain one of the most targeted sectors by cyber attackers.
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