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The CDC Updates Vaccine Recommendations
The CDC Updates Vaccine Recommendations
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccination recommendation for older adults, recommending a single dose of RSV vaccine to:
Adults age 75 and older, and
Adults ages 60 to 74 are at increased risk of severe RSV disease, including those with chronic medical conditions such as heart or lung disease and those living in long-term care facilities.
Additionally, the CDC also recommended the updated 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccines and the updated 2024-2025 flu vaccines to protect against severe COVID-19 and flu this fall and winter. New webpages are also available with detailed COVID-19 and RSV vaccine product summaries to inform ordering for the fall/winter respiratory virus season. Select the above links to learn more about the CDC's recommendations and resources.
Facility Assessment as indicated in F838 and the Minimum Staffing Standards Final Rule
Facility Assessment as indicated in F838 and the Minimum Staffing Standards Final Rule
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) now requires Long Term Care Facilities (LTC) to complete a facility assessment which should include:
A customized approach to documenting assessment findings, rather it should reflect the individuality of the facility’s specific resident population, programs, and services.
Serves as the foundation for determining the necessary resources and services to provide care for the residents that you serve.
Includes the requirement of using the Facility Assessment to develop a person-centered staffing plan for your organization.
Check out this wonderful resource tool, provided by Pathway Health, for leaders as they prepare and implement the expanded Facility Assessment requirements, effective 8/8/2024.
Skilled Nursing Facility Prospective Payment System: FY 2025 Pricer Update
Skilled Nursing Facility Prospective Payment System: FY 2025 Pricer Update
CMS published payment rates effective October 1, 2024, in the FY 2025 Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) final rule and Section 30.5 Medicare Claims Processing Manual, Chapter 6 (PDF).
Select the links for more information on the final rule and Medicare Claims Processing Manual, Chapter 6 - SNF Inpatient Part A Billing and SNF Consolidated Billing.
Updated regulations and guidance as a result of the approval of the Facility Assessment rule, Effective and implemented August 8, 2024
The top 10 frequently cited F-Tags for all nursing homes as of August 2024, with infection prevention & control and free of accidents remaining at the top
The top 10 frequently cited F-Tags for all nursing homes as of August 2024, with infection prevention & control and free of accidents remaining at the top
F884 - Reporting to National Health Safety Network
F689 - Free of Accident Hazards/Supervision/Devices
F880 - Infection Prevention & Control
F812 - Food Procurement, Store/Prepare/Serve Sanitary
F684 - Quality of Care
F656 - Develop/Implement Comprehensive Care Plan
F761 - Label/Store Drugs and Biologicals
F677 - ADL Care Provided for Dependent Residents
F609 - Reporting of Alleged Violations
F695 - Respiratory/Tracheostomy Care and Suctioning
From MLN: Skilled Nursing Facility Place of Service Codes: Updated Resources
From MLN: Skilled Nursing Facility Place of Service Codes: Updated Resources
CMS updated Medicare Learning Network resources to clarify how to use place of service codes 21, 31, and 32:
CMS updated Medicare Learning Network resources to clarify how to use place of service codes 21, 31, and 32:
Skilled Nursing Facility 3-Day Rule Billing fact sheet
Medicare Payment Systems: Skilled Nursing Facility Prospective Payment System educational tool
Skilled Nursing Facility Billing Reference educational tool
New SNF Preview Reports - Now Available due to a glitch
New SNF Preview Reports - Now Available due to a glitch
CMS originally released the October 2024 SNF Preview Reports on July 15, 2024, with a preview period that continued through August 14, 2024. We recently discovered that a technical glitch prevented the posting of SNF Preview Reports for Swing Bed providers. Because of this, CMS has decided to allow a second preview period for all SNF providers. The technical issue has been corrected and the October 2024 SNF Preview Reports are now available for all providers. These reports contain provider performance scores for quality measures, which will be published on the Care Compare and Provider Data Catalog (PDC) during the October 2024 refresh.
Providers have until September 23, 2024, to review their performance data. Only updates/corrections to the underlying assessment data before the final data submission deadline will be reflected in the publicly reported data on Care Compare.
For questions related to accessing your facility's provider preview report, please reach out to the iQIES Service Center by email at iqies@cms.hhs.gov or call 1-800-339-9313. For questions about SNF Quality Reporting Program (QRP) Public Reporting, please email SNFQRPPRQuestions@cms.hhs.gov.
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