Indiana Medicaid 5-8 Year Long Term Care Plan Update
Hoosier Owners and Providers for the Elderly, along with LeadingAge Indiana and Indiana Health Care, has come to an agreement with the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) concerning the future of Indiana Medicaid’s long term care programming. This agreement will serve as the basis for a written memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the associations and FSSA that provides significant detail and direction on development and implementation of the concepts detailed in the agreement. The Office of Governor Mike Pence has also endorsed the plan and is encouraged by our profession’s willingness to be creative and take risks to improve patient care.
Core MMIS Update
Indiana Medicaid provided an update to the Indiana Medicaid Advisory Committee about the progress in changing the claims payment system from the current system to “Core MMIS”. The agency had published a bulletin on November 24, 2015 announcing a go live date in early 2016, but that has been postponed after many complaints and concerns with the claims processing black-out dates listed in that bulletin. As of this month, the agency is testing batches of high volume claims to ensure the system is processing things correctly, and so far the processing is going smoothly. Please review the agency’s
bulletin from November 2015 as it includes a number of on-demand training tools. HOPE encourages you and your team to use these tools well in advance of the go live date, which is set for the 4th Quarter of 2016. No specific date has been determined. In addition, Indiana Medicaid is available to provide provider specific training. If you are interested in this training, contact your provider relations field representative.
HOPE Has Moved to its New Location
Visit us in our new location at 101 West Ohio Street, Suite 2000, Indianapolis, IN 46204
Members Participate in LTC Professionals Day at the State House
Hoosier Owners and Providers for the Elderly, in conjunction with IHCA and LeadingAge Indiana, hosted a LTC Professionals Day at the State House on February 2nd. Sen. Pat Miller (R-Indianapolis) and Rep. Cindy Kirkkoffer (R-Beech Grove), committee chairs for the Senate and House health committees, provided an overview of key health issues this session. Participants received a tour of the State House and met legislators for a lunch hosted outside the Indiana Supreme Court. Thanks to David Bixler, Doug Roberts and Allen Goodman for participating.
General Assembly Updates
The Indiana General Assembly reached its halfway point February 3. The Medical Malpractice Bill, (originally S.B. 152 now SB 28) has been revived and if it survives the legislative process it will impact health care providers including long term care. Action in the House could take place on this matter as early as Thursday, March 3rd. Depending on action taken by the House, it could continue to move forward to conference committee. Hope will provide an update later this month.
ISDH Releases Latest Nursing Home and Residential Care Occupancy Data
Beginning July 1, 2015, the ISDH began preparing a Comprehensive Care Facility Occupancy Rate Report twice a year. The reports are based on facility census data specific for January 1 and July 1 of each year. The data is reported to the ISDH by the facility immediately after January 1 and July 1 and is prepared on a county level. Here are links to the January 2016 data:
Bed counts
County occupancy rates
Summary of Indiana Residential Survey Tag Report
The most frequently cited residential tags for January 2016.
New Adult Protective Services Hotline
The APS staff housed within FSSA’s Division of Aging recently automated and replaced the paper-based process in use with the statewide APS hotline. To contact the APS hotline, call 1-800-992-6978.
ISDH Social Media Concerns
ISDH wants regulated communities to review policies and train staff on sharing of photos and videos of residents through social media. In a December 21, 2015, a ProPublica article, "Inappropriate Social Media Posts by Nursing Home Workers, Detailed," discussed incidents where photos or videos of nursing home residents were shared through social media. Long term care facilities should review policies and provide staff training to continue to protect residents’ privacy, dignity and rights.
ISDH Epidemiology Resource Center HAI Website
The Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) Healthcare Associated Infection website has been updated to include the following toolkits:
• CDC Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) Toolkit
• CDC Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) Prevention Toolkit
• CDC Clostridium difficile Toolkit
• CDC HAI Prevention Tools for Long Term Care Facilities
Each toolkit was created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC HAI Prevention Tools for Long Term Care Facilities includes The Core Elements of Antibiotic Stewardship for Nursing Homes that adapts the CDC Core Elements of Hospital Antibiotic Stewardship into practical ways to initiate or expand antibiotic stewardship activities in nursing homes. Any action taken to improve antibiotic use is expected to reduce adverse events, prevent emergence of resistance, and lead to better outcomes for residents.
Health Information Exchanges
In order to be successful in the new environment of managed care, Accountable Care Organizations, bundling and other health care reform efforts, post-acute providers will need to assure rapid and effective transitions of care, reduce readmissions, provide high quality clinically complex care, and maintain high quality metrics. This requires a thorough understanding of your residents’ health history, care in other settings and what happens to them once they leave your facility.