| Preparing for Onsite Vaccination Clinics | https://www.ahcancal.org/News-and-Communications/Blog/Pages/Preparing-for-Onsite-Vaccination-Clinics.aspx | Preparing for Onsite Vaccination Clinics | | | | | 1/22/2021 5:00:00 AM | | <div><span style="font-size:14.6667px;">As LTC facilities are gearing up for their second clinics through the CDC’s Pharmacy Partnership for Long Term Care Program, it’s important to provide accurate and timely information to your matched pharmacy (CVS/Walgreens/LTC pharmacy) prior to the onsite clinic. This includes: <br><br></span></div><div><ul><li><strong>Accurately Estimating Vaccine Quantity</strong>: If you are participating in the Pharmacy Partnership Program, your matched pharmacy (CVS/Walgreens/LTC pharmacy) will call you a few days before the clinic to confirm the number of people to be vaccinated. It is very important providers accurately estimate the number of people to be vaccinated at this time to avoid any vaccine wastage. If there are any changes, be sure to communicate this to your matched pharmacy partner as soon as possible. <br><br></li><li><strong>Providing Accurate Insurance Information</strong>: The federal government has purchased all doses of the vaccine and is providing it free of charge to all Americans. The partner pharmacies (CVS/Walgreens/LTC pharmacy) are eligible to bill insurance for the administration fee, for individuals that are insured and HRSA for those that are uninsured. Partner pharmacies have reported challenges in collecting the insurance information for both residents and staff. Please note that residents and staff do not have to pay out of pocket for the vaccine; however, it is necessary to provide their insurance information to the partner pharmacies so that insurance companies can be appropriately billed or the HRSA fund can be accessed. </li></ul></div><div>For more information on preparing for vaccination clinics, please review AHCA/NCAL’s <a href="/News-and-Communications/Documents/GetVaccinated/COVID-19%20Facility%20Vaccine%20Clinic%20Checklist.pdf" target="_blank">Vaccine Preparation Checklist</a>. For other information and resources, please review AHCA/NCAL’s <a href="/News-and-Communications/Pages/GetVaccinated.aspx" target="_blank">GetVaccinated</a> website. <br></div><div><span style="font-size:14.6667px;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-size:14.6667px;">Contact <a href="mailto:COVID19@ahca.org" target="_blank">COVID19@ahca.org</a> with questions. </span></div> | As LTC facilities are gearing up for their second clinics through the CDC’s LTC Pharmacy Partnership Program, it’s important to provide accurate and timely information to your matched pharmacy. | |
| Executive Order Issued to Protect Worker Safety and Health | https://www.ahcancal.org/News-and-Communications/Blog/Pages/Executive-Order-Issued-to-Protect-Worker-Safety-and-Health.aspx | Executive Order Issued to Protect Worker Safety and Health | | | | | 1/22/2021 5:00:00 AM | | <p>President Biden issued an <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/21/executive-order-protecting-worker-health-and-safety/" target="_blank">Executive Order</a> on protecting worker health and safety. This order includes direction for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to issue revised guidance on COVID-19, to consider whether any emergency temporary standards on COVID-19 will need to be issued, to review enforcement efforts around COVID-19, and outreach to industries hit hardest by COVID-19. If OSHA determines temporary standards are needed, these will be issued by March 15, 2021. AHCA/NCAL is closely monitoring this executive order and how this will impact members. AHCA/NCAL will keep members updated as more information is available.<br></p> | President Biden issued an Executive Order on protecting worker health and safety. | |
| As 117th Congress Gets Underway, Focus Must Remain on Prioritizing Long Term Care Through the Pandemic | https://www.ahcancal.org/News-and-Communications/Press-Releases/Pages/As-117th-Congress-Gets-Underway,-Focus-Must-Remain-On-Prioritizing-Long-Term-Care-Through-The-Pandemic.aspx | As 117th Congress Gets Underway, Focus Must Remain on Prioritizing Long Term Care Through the Pandemic | | | | | 1/21/2021 5:00:00 AM | | <p></p><div>As members of the 117th Congress begin their work in Washington, D.C., lawmakers will have numerous proposals on their legislative agendas. But as the country continues to battle COVID-19, residents and staff in long term care must remain a top focus.</div><div><br></div><div>Long term care facilities have been at the forefront of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. In spite of the heroic work of dedicated caregivers across the country, nursing home, assisted living, and other long term care residents account for nearly 40 percent of COVID-related deaths in the United States, while comprising only six percent of total cases. </div><div><br></div><div>Long term care residents are among the most vulnerable to COVID-19, yet many providers still face significant challenges nearly a year into their response to the pandemic. Congress must make long term care residents and frontline workers a priority within the health care system. </div><div><br></div><div>The American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) is urging Congress to add another $100 billion to the Provider Relief Fund, as was passed in the HEROES Act last year, and allocate $20 billion of this fund to long term care. Additionally, AHCA/NCAL calls on lawmakers to ensure long term care facilities are prioritized for access to testing and proper personal protective equipment—critical resources needed to combat COVID-19 in facilities. </div><div><br></div><div>Read more below on specific areas within the long term care sector that require immediate attention from lawmakers on Capitol Hill. </div><div><br></div><div><strong>Continuing To Fight The Pandemic</strong> </div><div><span style="font-size:11pt;">While vaccine distribution has begun in long term care facilities nationwide, there is still a long road ahead. Residents and staff must continue to be prioritized for the vaccines, as well as the tools they need to win the war, namely adequate personal protective equipment (PPE), timely testing and staffing support. This is especially important as cases continue to rise among the general population and long term care facilities experience a record-breaking number of cases and deaths. Ongoing support from the federal government is critical in order for providers to continue protectin</span><span style="font-size:11pt;">g residents and staff. </span><br></div><div><br></div><div><strong>Staffing</strong> </div><div>Staffing shortages have been an ongoing challenge for long term care facilities – a challenge that has only worsened in the wake of the pandemic. Staff members have missed work to take care of family members or have fallen ill with the virus and been forced to quarantine. A November <a href="/News-and-Communications/Fact-Sheets/FactSheets/State-of-Nursing-Home-Industry_Dec2020.pdf" target="_blank">survey</a> by the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) found that staffing has been the top cost in response to COVID-19, with nine out of 10 nursing homes hiring additional staff and/or paying staff overtime, underscoring the need for immediate solutions that will help alleviate this challenge. </div><div><br></div><div><strong>Declining Occupancy</strong></div><div>Long term care facilities have seen a dramatic decline in occupancy because of the pandemic. With fewer new admissions, particularly short-term rehabilitation patients, the growing number of empty beds fuels financial losses, underscoring the need for additional funding in order to keep facilities’ doors open for their current and future residents. </div><div><br></div><div><strong>Medicaid Underfunding</strong></div><div>Medicaid underfunding has plagued nursing homes for years. The perennial gap between Medicaid reimbursement rates and the actual cost of care has forced nursing homes to operate on shoestring budgets and suffer net losses year after year. These financial strains have been magnified by COVID-19, creating an alarming threat to the entire long term care sector. Adequate Medicaid funding is a long-term solution that will enable providers to invest in critical areas that will improve overall care. </div><div><br></div><div><strong>Nursing Home Closures</strong> </div><div>Nursing home closures have risen steadily for the past several years, but COVID-19 has increased the possibility of more providers shutting their doors. Nursing home closures leave residents displaced from their long-standing communities and loved ones and reduce their options for quality care, especially in rural areas. The same November survey AHCA/NCAL found that 90 percent of nursing homes are currently operating at a loss, and two-thirds of nursing home providers say they will not be able to sustain operations for another year at the current cost. Assisted living communities face similar financial challenges after receiving minimal federal aid due to the pandemic, with more than half operating at a loss and a similar percentage fearing their doors will close within a year without further assistance. We must ensure nursing homes and assisted living communities have the financial stability to continue providing high-quality care.</div><div><br></div><div><strong>ABOUT AHCA/NCAL</strong></div><div>The American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) represents more than 14,000 non-profit and proprietary skilled nursing centers, assisted living communities, sub-acute centers and homes for individuals with intellectual and development disabilities. By delivering solutions for quality care, AHCA/NCAL aims to improve the lives of the millions of frail, elderly and individuals with disabilities who receive long term or post-acute care in our member facilities each day. For more information, please visit <a href="/Pages/default.aspx" target="_blank">www.ahcancal.org</a>.<br></div> | As members of the 117th Congress begin their work in Washington, D.C., lawmakers will have numerous proposals on their legislative agendas. | |
| Provider Relief Fund Reporting Registration Updates | https://www.ahcancal.org/News-and-Communications/Blog/Pages/Provider-Relief-Fund-Reporting-Registration-Updates.aspx | Provider Relief Fund Reporting Registration Updates | | | | | 1/21/2021 5:00:00 AM | | <p>HHS recently launched the <a href="https://prfreporting.hrsa.gov/s/" target="_blank">Provider Relief Fund (PRF) Reporting Portal</a>, which is only open for providers to set up user accounts and register to submit reports. Currently, HHS has not established a registration deadline or set a due date for first reports. The original due date was February 15, but that has been pushed back to a date still to be determined. <br><span style="font-size:11pt;"><br>If you are experiencing issues after reviewing the <a href="https://hrsac19.my.salesforce.com/sfc/p/#t00000004XgP/a/t0000001FId8/wN.4dTa.NRiNhwh_0CBblH6gvvedhqOt7_.5OS7rP6U" target="_blank">Reporting Registration FAQs</a> and contacting the Provider Support line at (866) 569-3522, note that HHS has not set a deadline for registration. <br></span><span style="font-size:11pt;"><br>The current open-ended registration window gives AHCA/NCAL time to address the registration glitches with HHS, as well as several other challenging registration features such as having a unique username and email address for each TIN.<br></span><br>If you have questions, suggestions or recommendations for other changes to the registration guidance, please email <a href="mailto:COVID19@ahca.org" target="_blank">covid19@ahca.org</a>.<br></p> | Members have been contacting AHCA/NCAL with problems using the PRF Reporting Portal. | |