The Lead January 5, 2023
From the Desk of Angela Schnepf, President and CEO
Top Stories:
Regulatory Requirements for Cook County Skilled Nursing Facilities and Specialized Mental Health Rehabilitative Facilities Concerning Colbert and Williams Class Members
Peace Village Hosts Legislators
Impending Deadlines
Nursing and Rehabilitation:
Calendar Year 2023 Long Term Care Provider Assessment
TREAT COVID-19 Program for Chicago Nursing Homes
Housing:
New Resources for HUD Carbon Monoxide Requirements
Home and Community Based Services (HCBS):
DoA Announces New Senior Policy Advisor
From the Desk of Angela Schnepf, President and CEO
The reporting portal for the 4th reporting period of the Provider Relief Fund program opened on January 1, 2023. Providers who received PRF and/or ARP Rural Payments between July 1 and Dec. 31, 2021 are required to report on these funds between now and 10:59 p.m. CST on March 31, 2023. HRSA issued updated reporting requirements in late October 2022 that providers should familiarize themselves with prior to reporting. To assist with understanding the new requirements and possible consequences of certain actions, members are encouraged to attend the LeadingAge webinar, “Getting Ready for the New PRF and ARP Rural Reporting Requirements” on February 2 at 1 p.m. CST with experts from CLA. HRSA also updated a number of the reporting resources that are now available on their website but when asked, they indicated that they will NOT be holding a technical assistance webinar on the updated reporting requirements.
Kindest regards,
Angela
Regulatory Requirements for Cook County Skilled Nursing Facilities and Specialized Mental Health Rehabilitative Facilities Concerning Colbert and Williams Class Members
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) released an alert with the new regulatory requirements for Cook County Skilled Nursing Facilities and Specialized Mental Health Rehabilitative Facilities Concerning Colbert and Williams Class Members.
Peace Village Hosts Legislators
Roger Ellens, CEO of Peace Village, recently hosted both his State Representative and Senator. State Representative Kelly M. Burke (D-36th District; Oak Lawn) and Senator Bill Cunningham (D-18th District; Chicago). Burke is the Vice-Chair of the House Health Licenses Committee and Cunningham is Assistant Majority Leader and Senate President Pro Tempore. The Senator also visited the community over the summer. Angela Schnepf, president and CEO of LeadingAge Illinois attended both visits. During the recent visit, the legislators spoke to a gathering of residents and staff and also heard the challenges providers are facing.
Impending Deadlines
Each week, we will keep you abreast of important deadlines.
- January 31, 2023: This is reportedly when the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) will issue the staffing fines.
- January 31, 2023: HUD is currently accepting reimbursement requests from housing providers for COVID expenses completed or committed by January 31, 2023. LeadingAge has complied FAQs with HUD’s latest answers to our questions on CSPs; LeadingAge will also host an additional “Office Hours” session on January 19 at 2pm ET. Members can register herefor the CSP Office Hours
Calendar Year 2023 Long Term Care Provider Assessment
Providers are to be assessed per occupied bed day in an amount varying with the number of paid Medicaid resident days per annum in the facility with the following schedule of occupied bed tax amounts. This assessment is due and payable each month. The tax shall follow the schedule below effective July 1, 2022 and be rebased by the Department at the beginning of each calendar year.
Rate Tier based on number of paid Medicaid resident days per annum 4/1/2021-3/31/2022:
a.) $10.67 – 0-5,000 paid Medicaid resident days per annum
b.) $19.20 – 5,001-15,000 paid Medicaid resident days per annum
c.) $22.40 – 15,001-35,000 paid Medicaid resident days per annum
d.) $19.20 – 35,001-55,000 paid Medicaid resident days per annum
e.) $13.86 – 55,001-65,000 paid Medicaid resident days per annum
f.) $10.67 – 65,001+ paid Medicaid resident days per annum
g.) $ 7.00 – Any non-profit nursing facilities without Medicaid certified beds
The published Rate Tier by facility can be found at Long Term Care | HFS (illinois.gov).
An “occupied bed day” is defined as the sum of all beds multiplied by the number of days during the month on which each bed was occupied by a resident, other than a resident for whom Medicare Part A is the primary payer. By law, this assessment cannot be billed or passed on to any resident of a nursing home.
As a reminder, for a resident whose care is covered by the Medicare Medicaid Alignment Initiative (MMAI) demonstration, Medicare Part A is considered the primary payer. Enrollment of residents into MMAI are not expected to increase the tax burden on any nursing facility as these beds are counted as Medicare beds and will not be charged the per day assessment.
The department has established due dates for providers to file monthly assessment reports and make assessment payments for the reporting periods of October 2022 through September 2023 for assessment periods January 2023 through December 2023. Providers will be notified of any assessment deadline extensions via the website, and are encouraged to sign up for e-mail notifications regarding extensions of future due dates here.
The purpose of this notice is to provide information on the reporting and payment requirements for the 2023 calendar year monthly occupied bed assessments. Your facility’s provider notice packet has been mailed via USPS Attn: Chief Financial Officer.
Long Term Care Provider Monthly Assessment Report and Instructions:
Instructions for completing the report are also at hfs1446.pdf (illinois.gov). The HFS MEDI website is now available to be used for electronic submission of the Monthly Assessment Report. The electronic submission for the Monthly Assessment Report can be accessed through the HFS MEDI website.
The Monthly Assessment Report must be submitted electronically or postmarked on or before the due date to be considered as received on time. A copy of the report must accompany the payment and must be postmarked on or before the due date for the payment to be considered as received on time.
Failure to pay the monthly assessment on or before the due date will result in the assessment of a 5% penalty. In addition, failure to file the Monthly Assessment Report will result in an additional penalty equal to 25% of the monthly assessment due.
Delay of Payment Instructions:
Incomplete or late requests will not be considered. A cash position statement must be submitted with each delay of payment request. Delay of payment requests for a monthly assessment must be submitted no less than five (5) business days prior to the assessment due date.
Chart of Important Dates:
The chart identifies all the critical due dates for the calendar year 2023 Long Term Care Provider Assessment Program and should be posted for easy reference.
If you have any questions regarding the calendar year 2023 Long Term Care Provider Assessment, please contact the Bureau of Rate Development and Analysis, Assessment Unit, at 217.524.7110 or via e-mail at HFS.ProviderAssessmentUnit@illinois.gov.
TREAT COVID-19 Program for Chicago Nursing Homes
The Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) has partnered with Chicago Internal Medicine Practice and Research (CIMPAR) to help Nursing Homes during COVID-19 outbreaks ensure their residents have quick access to the COVID-19 Therapeutics Paxlovid and remdesivir. The TREAT COVID-19 (The Rapid Response Evaluation And Treatment of COVID-19) program is fully funded by the CDC and the services come at no cost to the facility or their residents. The program provides wrap around services for COVID-19 treatment and outbreak mitigation efforts. The service includes on site or telehealth medical consultation and drug interaction review with a licensed medical provider, medication delivery, and the prompt administration of COVID-19 treatment with appropriate observation time. Other services include point-of-care diagnostic testing and vaccination, which will contribute to the early mitigation of outbreaks and prevent healthcare system burden from hospitalizations.
New Resources for HUD Carbon Monoxide Requirements
To help HUD-assisted multifamily communities comply with requirements to have carbon monoxide devices in properties with carbon monoxide sources, such as those with fuel-burning appliances or attached garages, HUD issued a new “decision tree” guide for determining CO requirements based on sources of carbon monoxide and location on December 28, 2022. As of December 27, 2022, per HUD Notice PIH 2022-01 / Notice H 2022-01 / Notice OLHCHH 2022-01, HUD requires carbon monoxide alarms or detectors in housing with carbon monoxide sources. To help owners place the devices, HUD also announced that multifamily owners and operators still purchasing CO devices can consider Lowe’s partnership with OMNIA Partners to provide government agencies and nonprofits savings at the time of purchase, with no minimum order required. Additionally, LeadingAge has compiled a members-only PowerPoint with more information on CO detector compliance.
DoA Announces New Senior Policy Advisor
The Illinois Department on Aging (DoA) has announced that Liz Vogt is joining the Department as Senior Policy Advisor, effective February 16, 2023. Most recently, Vogt worked for FrontlineCo, an association management company headquartered in Springfield, leading the government and regulatory work of two home care trade associations, the Illinois HomeCare & Hospice Council and the Illinois Association of Community Care Program Homecare Providers. Prior to joining FrontlineCo in 2018, Vogt led the policy and advocacy efforts of an international surgical spine society. Vogt began her career as a Dunn Fellow in the Governor’s Office and worked on legislative issues in the Governor’s Office and for two state agencies from 2008-2015.
Gloria Simmons is assuming the role of Legislative Liaison, effective immediately. She has worked in the State of Illinois for over 18 years. She worked with the House of Representatives for over 13 years and as a Legislative Liaison for DoIT, and the Department of Human Services.