April 15, 2019 Edition of The Situation Report

PDGM PAGE

HOME CARE APPLICATIONS

NYC COUNCIL HEARING

LTC PLANNING

See HCA’s main website menu for a new PDGM page offering resources and education, including discounts on a new PDGM video and webinar series.

The Public Health and Health Planning Council acts on applications, approves LHCSA registration final rule.

The NYC Council conducted a hearing on home care worker issues, examining the 13-hour rule, city-administered programs, plus recruitmentand-retention Issues.

Long Term Care Planning Project group to meet, invites evidence-based programs, models for presentation at statewide session.

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Your Source for HOME CARE News, Policy and Advocacy

UPCOMING PROGRAMS

Vol. 4, Issue 15| April 15, 2019

Announcing HCA’s 2019 Award Winners Cheer them on at HCA’s May 8-10 Annual Conference (http://hcaannualconference.com/)

WEBINAR: Lessons Learned from ValueBased Purchasing April 18, 2019 SupervisionPlus Online Managerial Training Self-paced online training module Registration deadline: May 8, 2019 WCEI 5-Day Onsite Skin and Wound Management Course: Become Board Certified May 6-10 Windsor, CT HCA Annual Conference: Force For the Future May 8-10, 2019 Saratoga Springs, NY

Each year, HCA’s awards committee has the difficult task of choosing our Annual Awards winners. This year was no exception, and the recipients truly represent leading lights and experts in their fields.

Awards will be presented at our upcoming Annual Conference Awards Luncheon, a highlight of the threeday conference, on May 9 in Saratoga Springs. Last year’s luncheon drew a record audience, and we urge all members to join us in similar numbers to celebrate our 2019 winners, learn more about their achievements and contributions, and cheer them on.

See AWARDS p. 3

A record audience salutes our 2018 award winners. Will you join us in 2019?

House Intros Planning Improvement Act for Flexibility on Ordering Use our Legislative Action Center to press Congressional support for this measure and its Senate companion bill at https://p2a.co/CrvM1NC Members of the U.S. House of Representatives have again reintroduced the “Home Health Care Planning Improvement Act,” following on a Senate version presented earlier this year.

See FLEXIBILITY p. 2

INSIDE Announcing HCA’s 2019 Award Winners.......................................................1 House Intros Home Health Planning Improvement Act..................................1 PDGM is Coming: Don’t Go It Alone!..............................................................4 NEW PDGM Video & Webinar Series, and More.............................................5 HCA Voices Support for Budget Initiative to Develop Private Pay Model..........6 PHHPC Acts on Home Care and Hospice Applications.....................................6 Upcoming Deadlines and Due Dates............................................................7

NYC Council Examines Home Care Worker Issues, Including 13-Hour Rule........8 CMS Update: Holding Hospice Adjustments to Avoid Underpayments............9 LTC Planning Project Meets on Evidence-Based Programs..............................9 Home Health Tabletop Exercises Held........................................................10 New Sexual Harassment Regulatory Resources Posted by NYC.....................10 NGS Updates..............................................................................................11 Upcoming HCA Education...........................................................................12

The Situation Report: the Home Care Association of New York State

FLEXIBILITY from p. 1

The newly reintroduced House version (H.R. 2150) again has bipartisan support, with co-sponsorship from Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Buddy Carter (R-GA), Ron Kind (D-WI), Mike Kelly (RPA), Susan Wild (D-PA) and David Joyce (R-OH). The Senate version is also co-sponsored on a bipartisan basis by Susan Collins (R-ME) and Ben Cardin (D-MD).

The bill has previously been sponsored and co-sponsored by several New York Members of Congress and has been the subject of vigorous advocacy as a main HCA federal priority.

HCA will again be working with our federal government-affairs Representative, Brett Heimov of Envision Strategy, to gain New York Congressional Delegation co-sponsorship of this important measure, and we urge you to join us in this ask by writing to your Member of Congress using a new campaign on our Legislative Action Center at https://p2a.co/CrvM1NC. As extensively reported in the past, this bill would allow nurse practitioners, physician assistants, clinical nurse specialists and other non-physician advance-practice professionals to order and certify Medicare home health services. Currently, only physicians are permitted to do so. Non-physician practitioners are already allowed to conduct certain other activities in lieu of physicians, such as the Medicare face-toface visit for home health patients. Similar flexibility for ordering/referring to home care is especially important in communities where physician shortages exist and/or where individuals utilize such non-physician practitioners.

In addition to our grassroots advocacy campaign, you can find issue papers on this measure from past sessions of Congress on our Federal Advocacy page (at https://hca-nys.org/ advocacy-pac/federal) as well as links to other online advocacy campaigns where we’ve called for your participation.

HCA will keep you informed of other action steps and progress on this important measure.

Volume 4, No. 15 April 15, 2019 

The Situation Report is a weekly publication of the Home Care Association of New York State (HCA). Unless otherwise noted, all articles appearing in The Situation Report are the property of the Home Care Association of New York State. Reuse of any content within this newsletter requires permission from HCA. Al Cardillo President and CEO acardillo@hcanys.org Roger L. Noyes Director of Communications, Editor of The Situation Report rnoyes@hcanys.org Patrick Conole Vice President, Finance & Management pconole@hcanys.org Andrew Koski V ice President, Program, Policy & Services akoski@hcanys.org Alyssa Lovelace Director for Policy and Advocacy alovelace@hcanys.org Lauren Ford Director of Program Research, Development and Policy lford@hcanys.org Laura Constable Senior Director, Membership & Operations lconstable@hcanys.org Celisia Street Director of Education cstreet@hcanys.org Mercedes Teague Finance Manager mteague@hcanys.org Jenny Kerbein Director of Governance & Graphic Design jkerbein@hcanys.org Billi Wilson Manager, Meetings & Events bwilson@hcanys.org

Home Care Association of New York State (HCA) 388 Broadway, 4th Floor, Albany, NY 12207 Tele: 518-426-8764; Fax: 518-426-8788; Website www.hcanys.org

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Teresa Brown Administrative Assistant tbrown@hcanys.org

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 AWARDS from p. 1 Below are the award winners and a brief excerpt from their nominations. We will share more highlights during our awards presentation. Please register at http://hcaannualconference.com/register-2/.

Caring Awards HCA is presenting three Caring Awards to: Catherine DeSeve, RN, at Capital-Region-based Eddy Visiting Nurse and Rehabilitation; Geraldine Singleton, Home Health Aide at VNSNY in New York City; and Jena Yager, LPN at Community Health Center in the Johnstown area.

Ms. DeSeve created a process and flow to transition patients safely out of a controlled setting and back into the community with tools and strong support systems. She is also distinguished for “breaking down preconceived notions” and stigmas that can hinder a patient’s care, particularly in relation to behavioral health.

Ms. Singleton has been at Partners in Care, VNSNY’s LHCSA, for 40 years, the agency’s second-longestserving aide! Her trademark has been the close bonds she forms with clients, including an elderly woman from Barbados whose lack of appetite and increasing frailty prompted Ms. Singleton to learn how to cook Barbadian food, helping the patient gain weight and become healthier.

Ms. Yager, meanwhile, lets no barrier prevent her from delivering care to those she serves. She is selfless, humble, resourceful but a “rock” that patients trust and rely upon. From having to repeatedly spot-repair a flat tire on her car between patient care visits on New Year’s Day to toughing out a broken nose that occurred after tripping at a patient’s home, she puts her patient first and dedicates herself wholeheartedly to her mission.

Ruth F. Wilson Award HCA’s highest honor, the Ruth F. Wilson Award, is presented to Dr. Penny Feldman, Ph.D., Senior Research Scientist/Emeritus Director of VNSNY’s Center for Home Care Policy & Research. Dr. Feldman’s ground-breaking career contributions include: pioneering the use of data analytics and quality measures in home health care; designing and testing numerous interventions to improve home care delivery and outcomes; and working with government officials at the state and national levels to broaden the scope and improve the quality of home and community-based health care. She published some of the first academic studies on the role and career trajectory of home health aides, launching and directing VNSNY’s Research Center, which remains today the only research center in the U.S. dedicated to care that’s provided in the home. Her recognition highlights the significance of research for the home care field.

Physician Champions HCA is presenting the Physician Champion award to Dr. Martin Doerfler, M.D., of North Shore LIJ Health System on Long Island, whose medical expertise, devotion of time and extensive collaboration with HCA on our Stop Sepsis at Home initiative were critical from inception to completion. He served as a core member and medical advisor on the Stop Sepsis at Home Steering Committee, following an address at

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The Situation Report: the Home Care Association of New York State HCA’s 2014 Quality Symposium where his emphasis on prehospital, pre-emergency stage sepsis onset helped ignite the HCA sepsis effort.

A second Physician Champion Award is being presented to Dr. Thomas Caprio, M.D., Chief Medical Officer at UR Medicine Home Care (URMHC) in Rochester, an expert on quality initiatives and performance improvement whose mastery of regulatory issues has helped shepherd URMHC through multiple successful surveys. He is a certified medical director in long-term care and was one of the first physicians in the country to receive hospice medical director certification. As an academic faculty member at the University of Rochester, he has focused on research projects examining the quality of care of hospice provided to older adults, home care efforts directed at heart failure patients, and the benefits of home rehabilitative services in reducing rehospitalizations.

Advocacy Award New York State Office For the Aging (NYSOFA) Director Greg Olsen, HCA’s 2019 Advocacy Award recipient, has been a standout and consistent advocate for home care. He has partnered with HCA on strategies for supporting the home care workforce and responding to the worker shortage. He and his team have adopted a proactive orientation to HCA, inviting our views and concrete input on policies. Mr. Olsen is also a state and national spokesperson for the HCA Stop Sepsis at Home initiative, personally hosting webinars, producing a statewide public service announcement, leveraging the participation of county agency departments, and other efforts.

Triple Aim Innovation Award People Home Health Care Certified, Inc. of Western New York is recognized as a team for their efforts to integrate telemedicine technology into community-based care for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Inspired by the Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment program, the agency sought to decrease ER visits and improve home care with standardized best-practice care paths and triage software. ER visits have subsequently dropped from 120 to 80 per month, with urgent care visits now executed in the home whenever possible.

HCA congratulates our award winners and looks forward to honoring them on May 9.

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Volume 4, No. 15 April 15, 2019 

PDGM is Coming: Don’t Go It Alone!

With PDGM coming in a matter of months, you can’t afford to go it alone.

HCA’s Annual Conference is the main venue for you to find critical support services and learn what vendors are doing to help you make the leap.

Our conference Exhibitor Hall is a nucleus of industry talent that can provide you with PDGMreadiness consulting services, bench-marking help, IT solutions, and more.

Whether it’s PDGM, value-based payments, employee benefits, workforce education, or a change in your general procurement needs, our exhibitors represent a comprehensive range of supports for you in a shifting home care landscape, and they are a vital learning resource as well.

Check out our current list of exhibitors at http:// hcaannualconference.com/2019exhibitors/, and join us for the premier HCA Conference of the year.

The Situation Report: the Home Care Association of New York State

Volume 4, No. 15 April 15, 2019 

NEW PDGM Video & Webinar Series, Plus the Latest News on PDGM for HCA Members Check out our NEW One-Stop Online Source for All Things PDGM at https:// hca-nys.org/pdgm-resources-educationand-advocacy.

We know that PDGM is on everyone’s minds, and HCA has you covered! Our new PDGM webpage is your go-to source for education, resources and the latest policy updates.

As part of HCA's Stop Sepsis at Home project, we've engaged with the State University at Albany School of Social Welfare and our sepsis project partners for a special workshop tomorrow (April 16) on "What You Need to Know About Sepsis." The workshop will also be filmed by Sepsis Alliance for ongoing education purposes.

To promote the program, HCA President Al Cardillo (right) and Director of Program Research, Development and Policy Lauren Ford were interviewed on the University's radio station, 90.9 FM (WCDB).

HCA has also partnered with the National Association for Home Care and Hospice NAHC to offer two new educational offerings at discounted rates for HCA members (see discount codes and registration link below).

NAHC PDGM Video Presentation: The recent NAHC PDGM Summit Tour was a great success. Now presented in video format, this 5.5-hour course features the Summit’s core content to help you understand what PDGM will mean for your business. Leading industry experts provide an overview and cover clinical, financial, operations, business analytics, and technology topics.

PDGM Webinar Series: If want a deeper understanding of PDGM, this seven-part series is for you. These one-hour-long webinars will occur from May to August and can be watched in real time or at a later date depending on your schedule. This deeper content will focus on all parts of your agency, from operations, referral source and intake, to coding, documentation and review cycle, as well as EMR readiness and clinical management.

Don’t Miss Out! Register using your member discount codes at https://www.nahc.org/pdgm-states/.

NAHC PDGM Education Discount Codes Individual Webinar Code: PDGM-Ind-NY01 PDGM Webinar Series (all 7 webinars) Code: PDGM-NY01 PDGM Video Code: PDGM-NY01 Combined Video & Webinar Series Code: PDGM-Combo-NY01

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Volume 4, No. 15 April 15, 2019 

HCA Voices Support for Budget Initiative to Develop Private Pay Model of Community-Based Care HCA President Al Cardillo joined administration officials, legislative leaders and stakeholders on a press release from the Governor’s office last week, praising a new program in the state budget that will develop a private-pay market for community-based services, along with other initiatives to support aging network services.

The program includes $15 million in recurring funds for counties that report unmet needs such as personal care, home delivered meals, case management, home modifications and more. It also authorizes the New York State Office For the Aging (NYSOFA), led by Director Greg Olsen, to develop a private-pay market to serve individuals at income levels that would otherwise make them ineligible for Medicaid.

“HCA applauds Governor Cuomo and Director Olsen on these innovative new supports for home and community services,” Mr. Cardillo says in the press release. “This creative new investment helps older adults’ access to services; taps the HCA home care agencies to provide the expanded services; and takes steps toward a vision of new and needed ways to privately finance long term care in adjunct to Medicaid.”

“Home and long-term care services should not be left out of basic, mainstream health coverage discussions, and this new program can be an important step to changing that paradigm,” he added. “HCA and our home care agencies look forward to working closely with the Governor and the State Office for the Aging in realizing the great goals of this new program in New York State.”

The full press release is at https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-and-legislative-leadersannounce-2020-enacted-budget-includes-historic-15.

HCA will provide further details on this initiative as planning efforts commence.

PHHPC Acts on Home Care and Hospice Applications The Public Health and Health Planning Council (PHHPC) met on April 11 and approved a package of home care and hospice applications.

The agenda and application information are at https://www.health.ny.gov/facilities/ public_health_and_health_planning_council/meetings/2019-04-11/.

The applications included:       

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One entity to become the new sole member of an existing hospice.

One entity to become the new sole member of an existing Certified Home Health Agency (CHHA).

One CHHA to become the new operator of an existing CHHA. The merger of two existing Licensed Home Care Services Agencies (LHCSAs).

Change of ownership and merger of two existing LHCSAs. Two entities to become LHCSAs associated with an Assisted Living Program (ALP).

Two LHCSAs for changes in membership and to become associated with ALPs. Continued on next page

Volume 4, No. 15 April 15, 2019

The Situation Report: the Home Care Association of New York State

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Continued from previous page The PHHPC meeting was preceded by a meeting of the Committee on Codes, Regulations and Legislation. One of the items on its agenda was a final regulation that would include new requirements for annual registration of LHCSAs. This rule was proposed in December 2018 and HCA had provided comments in February. In response to our call for flexibility on the annual registration deadline, the state Department of Health indicated that it intends to release the registration form in advance of the deadline to allow for adequate time to complete the process.

All committee and full PHHPC meetings, including archived ones, are webcast at https://www.health.ny.gov/events/webcasts/.

Upcoming Deadlines and Due Dates Requirement/Change/Meeting

Effective/Due Date

More Information

Posting of OSHA Form 300A: Summary of WorkͲRelated Injuries and Illnesses

February 1 to April 30, 2019

https://www.osha.gov/recordkeeping/RKforms.html

Coalition Surge Test (CST) Exercise for Long Island

Sometime between Andrew Koski at akoski@hcanys.org or (518) 810Ͳ April 15 and April 26, 2019 0662

Interoperable Communications/Medical Countermeasures (IOC/MCM) exercise – Long Island

April 18, 2019

Drew.Fried@health.ny.gov

2019 Adult Care Facility 1st Quarter Statistical Information Report (and Roster of Adult Home Residents, if applicable)

April 30, 2019

https://commerce.health.state.ny.us/public/hcs_logi n.html

Healthcare Personnel Influenza Vaccination Report

May 1, 2019

https://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/communicable/ influenza/seasonal/providers/prevention_of_influen za_transmission/

North Country Health Emergency Preparedness Coalition (HEPC) meeting

May 2, 2019

Maureen.casaleͲreidt@health.ny.gov

Capital District HEPC meeting

May 7, 2019

Maureen.casaleͲreidt@health.ny.gov

CST Exercise for Lower Hudson Valley

Sometime between April 29 and May 10, 2019

Andrew Koski at akoski@hcanys.org or (518) 810Ͳ 0662

IOC/MCM exercise – Lower Hudson Valley

May 9, 2019

gyongyi.mcqueston@health.ny.gov

Long Island HEPC meeting

June 6, 2019

Drew.Fried@health.ny.gov

Western Region HEPC All Partners meeting

June 12, 2019, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

https://tinyurl.com/yyk5vr3q

Transition Period for Using Health Insurance Claim Number (HICN) or new Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI)

April 1, 2018 to December 31, 2019

https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/NewͲMedicareͲ Card/index.html

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NYC Council Hearing Examines Home Care Worker Issues, Including 13-Hour Rule The New York City Council’s Committees on Mental Health, Disabilities and Addiction conducted a hearing last week on home care workers and services.

The April 8 hearing examined a range of issues, such as city-coordinated services through the Department for the Aging (DFTA) and Human Resources Administration (HRA), including the current waitlist for DFTAadministered services, as well as the recent New York State Court of Appeals ruling on 24-hour care, and workforce recruitment-and-retention issues generally.

Committee Chair Diana Ayala noted that the impetus for the hearing was a constituent of hers with intense medical needs who did not receive the care required, and she sought to determine where to appropriately direct her office’s advocacy on behalf of such cases, leading to a discussion of the many jurisdictional and program layers within the home care system.

About three-fourths of the hearing’s time involved testimony and questions directed to officials from DFTA and HRA, though it was evident that many of the constituent examples presented by Council Member Ayala and others fell outside of the City’s jurisdiction, and largely under the state Medicaid program, with oversight from the state Department of Health (DOH). The DFTA and HRA officials described how their agencies handle compliance issues, including their efforts to report to other jurisdictions, like DOH, whenever applicable, about client concerns, and how those concerns are tracked.

Of 192,740 personal care cases in New York City, approximately 5,050 remain in fee-for-service HRAadministered contracts. DFTA serves 3,600 home care clients through the Expanded In-home Services for the Elderly Program (EISEP), as well as 33,000 case-management clients.

Council Member Margaret Chin was especially concerned about the current waitlist for EISEP services, though it was noted that the City will be receiving an as-of-yet unknown portion of the $15 million in new EISEP funds from the state budget, and this funding will be devoted to drawing down the waitlist.

The last twenty minutes of the hearing dealt substantially with the recent Court of Appeals verdict on 24-hour home care, as extensively reported to the membership, specifically the Court’s preservation of the 13-hour rule for wages when an aide receives a certain amount of uninterrupted sleep and meal breaks.

Provider representatives testifying at the hearing urged the Council to advocate for a state legislative solution, with an emphasis on full funding of 24-hour cases, the move toward split-shifts wherever possible, and other methods, like variable on-call rates. Council Members appeared receptive to these ideas but declined any extensive questioning on the issue.

HCA will look to engage the Council and present our analysis of these issues, our rate proposals, and workforce-recruitment-and-retention agenda to further inform their deliberations and inter-governmental relations activities with state policymakers.

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CMS Provides Update on Holding Hospice Adjustments to Avoid Underpayments Last year, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) changed Medicare’s claims processing systems to better identify prior hospice days when calculating hospice routine home care payments after a transfer.

Additional information on this change can be found in the following Medlearn Matters (MLN) article: https:// www.cms.gov/Outreach-and-Education/Medicare-Learning-Network-MLN/MLNMattersArticles/Downloads/ MM10180.pdf.

Unfortunately, this process is not working correctly, resulting in underpayment for these claims. CMS will fix this issue on October 7, 2019, stating the following: Until October 7, CMS requests that hospice providers do not submit adjustments when there is a transfer within the benefit period. Beginning October 7 or after, hospices can resume submitting adjustments. If the dates of service are beyond the timely filling period, hospice providers should submit a reopening request using Type of Bill 8XQ.

Long Term Care Planning Project Meets on Evidence-Based Programs The state Department of Health (DOH) and state Office for the Aging (NYSOFA) have announced the second meeting of the Long Term Care Planning Project (LTCPP). It will cover Evidence-Based Programs and Innovative Models in Aging and Long Term Care. HCA is a core member of this workgroup.

DOH and NYSOFA are soliciting proposals from organizations to present at the meeting about evidencebased programs and other innovative models used in aging and long term care. This is a great opportunity to influence the long term care policymaking and planning process and to feature your organization among policy experts and state officials.

Organizations that are not selected to present may be invited to have their organization listed in a final resource document on DOH’s LTCPP webpage.

The meeting, where presentations will be made, is on May 13, 2019 in Meeting Room 6, in the Concourse of the Empire State Plaza in Albany from 1 to 4 p.m.

Submissions must follow the proposal outline (at https://hca-nys.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/ProposalSubmission-Template.docx) and contain: a description of the evidence-based program or innovative model; an evaluation of the program/model and its results; and an explanation of its effectiveness.

DOH is accepting proposals for the following categories: Care Transitions; Technology; Prevention, Wellness, and Chronic Disease Management; or Other.

Proposals must be submitted to ALTCteam@health.ny.gov by Wednesday April 17, 2019. If your proposal is accepted, you will be notified by April 29 and will be asked to prepare a 10-minute presentation for the May 13 meeting.

Continued on next page

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Continued from previous page LTCPP is designed to analyze, evaluate and identify the existing service gaps in New York’s long term care system, determine the most cost-effective evidence-based interventions and prepare a strategic plan to meet the emerging needs of New York’s aging population over the next decade.

LTCPP held its first meeting in February and HCA was represented by HCA President and CEO Al Cardillo.

The information gathered from each meeting is expected to feed a list of recommendations for state planning.

Home Health Tabletop Exercises Held Last week, the Western Region Health Emergency Preparedness Coalition (HEPC) held a Virtual Tabletop Emergency Preparedness Exercise for home health and hospice agencies.

The April 8 and 11 exercises sought to gain better insight into the plans, needs and capabilities of the home health and hospice sectors. It explored the abilities of providers to: ensure they have updated roles in the Health Commerce System; share critical information with their staff, patients and community partners in an event; activate a command and control structure; respond to surge requests with current staffing capability; and identify barriers in communication, service delivery, and staff support during an event.

About 80 agency representatives participated in the exercises and some were called upon to report on how they were addressing the objectives. HCA had worked with the Western Region HEPC on developing the exercise and materials, and commends the HEPC for holding one that centered on home care and hospice providers. We thank those home care and hospice providers who participated. We will also be encouraging other HEPCs to hold similar exercises in the future.

Those who participated received a survey and are reminded to complete it by April 19 (at noon), as well as an After Action Report that should be retained for your files.

For more information, contact Andrew Koski at akoski@hcanys.org or (518) 810-0662; or Alyssa Lovelace at alovelace@hcanys.org or (518) 810-0658.

New Sexual Harassment Regulatory Resources Posted by NYC The New York City Commission on Human Rights has posted free online training materials and a revised Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) document related to sexual harassment.

The training is at https://www1.nyc.gov/site/cchr/law/sexual-harassment-training.page while the revised FAQs are at https://www1.nyc.gov/site/cchr/law/sexual-harassment-training-faqs.page.

As mentioned in numerous HCA communications, there are both state and New York City (NYC) requirements on sexual harassment. Under state law, starting October 9, 2018, employers in all of New York State are required to: adopt the state’s model sexual harassment prevention policy or revise their

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own policies to meet the state’s minimum standards; provide employees with the policy in writing or electronically; and provide annual sexual harassment training.

Information on the state law is at https://www.ny.gov/combating-sexual-harassment-workplace/employers.

Under a different NYC law (Local Law 96 of 2018), New York City employers with 15 or more employees are required to conduct annual anti-sexual harassment training for all employees. Effective April 2019, employers have one year to implement the training for all employees and must ensure all employees are trained annually thereafter.

The state law, along with the related New York City law, is discussed in an HCA memo at https://hca-nys.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/042318SexualHarrassmentMemoJacksonLewis.pdf.

NGS Updates National Government Services (NGS), New York’s principal home health Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) for Jurisdiction 6, has provided the following updates on its website at www.ngsmedicare.com.

NGS Now on Twitter NGS asks providers to start following them at @NGSMedicare for information on the Medicare Program, notifications of Medicare BLAST and other useful information.

Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and Electronic Remittance Advice (ERA) Enrollment Application Changes Coming Soon NGS will be changing the EDI enrollment process. This affects providers receiving the Medicare Part A Standard Paper Remittance (SPR) who want to change their current EDI enrollment as well as new EDI enrollees.

Beginning May 13, providers enrolling with EDI for the first time will be required to simultaneously enroll for the ERA. Additionally, providers requesting changes to their current EDI enrollment will also be required to enroll to receive the ERA X12 835 transaction if they are still receiving paper remittances.

If HCA members currently use a software system maintainer or a clearinghouse to submit your claims to Medicare, contact them to verify if they can receive the ERA on your behalf.

NGS offers free tools that support converting the ERA (X12 835 transaction) to a print image file that looks similar to the SPR, including the PC-Print software and the PC-ACE billing software. See the EDI Enrollment tab on NGS’s website for details.

Once the enrollment for the 835 ERA is complete, the provider will receive both the ERA file and the SPR by mail for 45 days. The SPR will be discontinued after the 45-day period.

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Upcoming HCA Education Registration for all of these programs is at https://hca-nys.org/events-education/upcoming-events.

Managers, Executives, Administrators Join us for HCA’s Annual Conference (May 8-10), our flagship annual event.

SupervisionPlus with Fazzi Associates: Beginning April 29, HCA is offering online management training through Fazzi Associates to teach your management teams the fundamentals of supervision: assessing employee competency; increasing motivation; improvement strategies; productivity and more.

Value Based Purchasing: Agencies in nine states have undergone a federal value-based purchasing model tying payment to outcomes with annually increasing swings in upward or downward risk adjustments.

Sound familiar? New York State has already moved in a similar direction for Medicaid, and the federal Medicare model could very well come our way, too. In the webinar, Lessons Learned from Value-Based Purchasing (April 18), hear what methods agencies from the demo states have used to increase performance scores.

Coders and Billers Our four-part webinar series on ICD-10 Coding (May 2, 9, 16 and 23) will help prepare your coders for the 432 possible case-mix-adjusted groups under PDGM and more.

Aides Each month, HCA offers a webinar to support your paraprofessional staff on clinical topics, patient care interactions, and more. The next topic: The Aide’s Role in Understanding Legal Issues on May 9. See the full program list for 2018-19 online.

Nursing, OASIS OASIS: Your clinicians need regular OASIS training to stay up-to-date and maintain certification, plus OASIS-D includes the removal of more than a dozen items, along with other additions or revisions. HCA is sponsoring Blueprint for OASIS Accuracy Workshops and an optional COS-C Exam both upstate and downstate on: June 17-18 (with optional exam on June 19) near Rochester; and September 23-24 (with optional exam on September 25) in NYC. Wound Care: Upcoming, intensive five-day education from the Wound Care Education Institute will provide your clinicians with an evidence-based approach to wound management and current standards of care on May 6-10 in Windsor, CT. Continued on next page

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The Situation Report: the Home Care Association of New York State

Volume 4, No. 15 April 15, 2019 

Continued from previous page LTC-WIOs The new Long Term Care Workforce Investment Organization (LTC-WIO) program is a state initiative that contracts with organizations to make free workforce education available to your staff, including with wage replacement funds. Have you checked out the LTC-WIO yet in your region? HCA has a dedicated page on our website with information at https://hca-nys.org/no-cost-workforcetraining-available-through-regional-wios.        

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April 18: Lessons Learned from Value-Based Purchasing (webinar) April 29-June 24: SupervisionPlus Online Managerial Training May 2, 9, 16, 23: 4-Part ICD-Webinar Series May 8-10: HCA Annual Conference May 6-10: 5-Day Skin and Wound Course May 15: The Art of Creating and Facilitating Grief Groups June 17-19: Blueprint for OASIS Accuracy (upstate) September 23-25: Blueprint for OASIS Accuracy (downstate)