Driving efficiency to your workforce and revenue recovery process is critical to SNF survival in 2022. In our March 22 webinar, we'll discuss five ways providers are supercharging their claims cycle to ensure success.

Previously, you may have gotten away with slow claims reimbursement, but COVID is making it all the more essential for revenue to flow in. Why?

• Costs are higher – you must recover all of the revenue you've earned.

• Staff is harder to find and keep – you must use staff efficiently and provide tools to make their jobs easier.

• Care is shifting toward home and value-based care – you must have the revenue and flexibility to shift your strategy.

With the Biden Administration's announcement of increased focus on nursing homes and CMS' mandate on staffing and higher penalties, you can't afford to leave money on the table. So, save a seat, and let us show why Every Dollar, Every Day matters for every SNF.

On March 4, AHCA/NCAL held a Post-State of the Union call as a response to President Biden’s proposals for nursing homes. Here's the replay link, as well as our summary of what was discussed.

In general, don't panic! 

• Major reforms often fail in Congress
• Rulemaking takes time
• Some of the proposals require Congressional action
• AHCA/NCAL is working on a response plan

Proposed for Nursing Homes

Quality Measures

• Phase-out rooms with 3 or more beds
• Reduce inappropriate use of antipsychotics
• SNF Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) includes more staffing and resident experience measures

Readiness for Pandemics

• Continue to support COVID testing
• Continue to support vaccine efforts
• Review on-site infection control rules and increase the standards
• Review emergency preparedness rules to improve readiness

Proposed for CMS

Transparency

• Create a new database of building owners and operators
• Make Nursing Home Compare easier to understand
• Examine the role of REITS and private equity

 Jobs

• Make nurse aide training cheaper
• Support state training programs
• Work with Dept. of Labor to launch a national campaign for recruiting, training, retaining, and transitioning workers to long-term care.

Proposed Oversight

• Add $500 million for survey inspections
• Change Special Focus Facility Program
• Increase civil fines (CMP) to $1million
• Consider CMPs on a per diem basis
• Congress to develop standards for chain owner participation in Medicare/Medicaid
• Congress to give CMS more authority to validate data and enforce incorrect reporting

AHCA/NCAL Plan of Response

• Determine what AHCA/NCAL can support
• Determine which proposalsAHCA/NCAL might make more acceptable
• Try to kill proposals AHCA/NCAL can’t modify or support
• Question Minimum Staffing Study
  • Where can nursing homes find the workers?
  • What’s their implementation timeline?
  • What are the penalties for non-compliance?

As you may have seen this week, the AHCA/NCAL action plan is already underway. AHCA/NCAL contacted the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to outline their position and request a meeting.

It's a new year with new challenges on the horizon. Do you want to know how fellow senior housing and care professionals are feeling?

Senior Housing News (SHN) conducted an online poll among 350 subscribers between Nov. 12, 2021, and Dec. 9, 2021, and these are the top takeaways.

• 87% are somewhat/very positive outlook on the health of the senior housing industry in 2022.
• +78% have strong confidence in restoring pre-COVID occupancy levels between 2H2022 and 2023.
• Majority say staffing is the greatest non-COVID-related challenge and most significant expense for 2022.
• Majority say the staffing challenge will not improve until after 2023.
• 55% (of those applicable) plan to buy assets in 2022, with private equity expected as biggest buyer and second-biggest financer

Summarized below are a few of the survey questions and the results. 

Which of the following areas will have the largest impact on 2022 expenses?

What is your company’s primary growth strategy?

What will be the most attractive category of senior housing in which to invest?

To read the full report, visit seniorhousingnews.com.

In this week's McKnight's Long-Term Care News, a warning was issued about Worker data under threat: Another concern for providers desperate for staff.

With many providers using third-party staffing agencies, the article reiterated our warning to clients. "Prime Care Technologies, an IT firm that offers cybersecurity services to long-term care clients, reported earlier this year that some two-thirds of breaches are now vendor-related."

Ongoing and growing cyber threats to your data may prompt conversations around outsourcing cybersecurity protections and considering cyber insurance policies. Following are additional resources to help you weigh these decisions:

• McKnight's LTC News, April 2021: Ransomware ‘bull’s eye’ grows, clouding telehealth’s rise in long-term care
• Webcast: Want to Avoid Cyber Sharks? Swim with the School - Prime Care Tech and Willis Towers Watson
• Self-Audit: Cyber Security 10-Point Checklist
• SMB Trends: Cyber Security Protection Starts with Employee Training and Passwords

We're here to help!

In a November press release, UKG (Ultimate Kronos Group) calls out Prime Care Technologies as one of its technology partners helping to simplify the technology experience for healthcare employees. By integrating senior care data from our primeVIEW intelligence app into the UKG Dimensions dashboard, we save overburdened administrators from logging into multiple places to evaluate how they can staff enough nurses to meet both census and Five Star rating requirements.

Prime Care is pleased to be among the nearly two-dozen technology partners added to the UKG Marketplace and to in the company of industry leaders like Microsoft. To read more, see UKG Marketplace Partners Keep People at Center of Everyday Experiences.

To learn more about integrating critical KPI data from primeVIEW to UKG Dimensions, visit our UKG Technical Services page and check out this snapshot from the UKG Dimensions dashboard.