News for MDS Experts

💡 Medicare Advantage and End-of-Life Care: What You Should Know 💡

A recent analysis highlighted in McKnight’s Long-Term Care News (based on a Wall Street Journal report) revealed that over 300,000 seniors left Medicare Advantage (MA) plans in their final year of life between 2016 and 2022. Challenges like prior authorizations and care denials often limited access to skilled nursing and post-acute care, prompting many to switch back to traditional Medicare.

📊 Key Insights:
- End-of-life patients left MA plans at twice the rate of other enrollees.
- This saved MA plans $10 billion in costs but shifted higher expenses to traditional Medicare.
- Nearly 20% of those who switched accessed nursing home care within a week, compared to 3.9% of fee-for-service patients.

www.mcknights.com/news/ma-plans-shed-sickest-patients-in-their-final-year-of-life-shifting-costs-...

How do we ensure vulnerable patients receive the care they need, regardless of coverage plans? Let’s talk. 👇

#MedicareAdvantage #LongTermCare #PostAcuteCare #HealthcareInsights ... See MoreSee Less

🚨📢𝗤𝗦𝗢-𝟮𝟱-𝟬𝟳-𝗡𝗛-CMS is releasing the following revised guidance for nursing home surveyors: • Admission, Transfer & Discharge, Chemical Restraints/Unnecessary Psychotropic Medication, Resident Assessment, Quality of Life and Quality of Care, Administration, Quality Assurance Performance Improvement (QAPI), Infection Prevention and Control, and other areas. • Clarifications and technical corrections have also been made throughout Appendix PP.
𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀: • Training on this guidance will be available upon release of this memorandum for surveyors and providers. • Advance copy of the Critical Element Pathways are attached to this memo. • Advanced copy of Appendix PP is attached to this memo. • Revised Survey Resources will be posted on February 24, 2025. cstu.io/04d652 ... See MoreSee Less

🚨 Don’t Miss This Webinar – Happening in 2 Days! 🚨

Facility Assessment – Making it Your Facility GPS
🗓 Date: November 20, 2024
🕑 Time: 2:00 p.m. Eastern
🎓 Earn: 1 NAB-Approved CE

Join Linda Winston, RN, MSN, BS, DNS-MT, QCP-MT, RAC-CT, RAC-CTA, and Barbara Bates, RN, MSN, DNS-MT, QCP-MT, for an in-depth session on the critical role of Facility Assessments in aligning resident needs with staffing and resources.

What You’ll Learn:
✅ Key components of the Facility Assessment
✅ Federal regulations behind this requirement
✅ Best practices for developing, implementing, and updating assessments

Don't miss this chance to strengthen your facility’s compliance and care quality!

#WebinarAlert #LTCProviders #FacilityAssessment #ContinuingEducation

📢 Register now and secure your spot! www.achca.org/novwebinar24 ... See MoreSee Less

🩺 Did You Know? 🩺

In the 19th century, nursing homes were often called “poorhouses” or “almshouses” and were primarily for individuals who needed assistance but had limited resources.

Thankfully, today’s long-term care facilities are dedicated to providing quality, specialized care for residents of all backgrounds! 🌟

#NursingHomeFacts #LongTermCare #MDSConsultants #ElderCare #HealthcareHistory ... See MoreSee Less