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President's ReportAHRQ Stats: Decline in Hospital- Acquired ConditionsWashington UpdatePhysician RecruitmentRegistration Now Open for WRTS 2017Emergency Preparedness and YouNDHA Education Update
Click on link to view attachments:https://www.ndha.org/resources/publications/
Phone: 701-224-9732Fax: 701-224-9529Web Site: www.ndha.org
Jerry Jurena, PresidentTim Blasl, Vice PresidentCallen Cermak, Finance ManagerLori Schmautz, Executive AssistantPam Cook, Education DirectorMelissa Hauer, General Counsel
A portion of this publication is supported by The Center for Rural Health’s Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program. Visit their site at http://rural-health.und.edu/projects/flex/.
The InformerPresident’s Report ~ Jerry Jurena
In This Edition:
Attachments:
NDHA Contacts
March 3, 2017
Legislative update: This is week 10 of the legislative session and they have com-pleted 49 days. We keep hearing that they want to complete their work in 70 days. If they can do that, they will have 10 days they can use later this year or in 2018. They want the days available to address changes in the Affordable Care Act when those changes occur.
On Tuesday, Senate Appropriations started the day with an overview of the medical services part of the North Dakota Department of Human Services’ budget HB 1012. Once that was completed, public testimony started. Several people, including Dr. Lambrecht and I testified in support of the amended bill. Questions were asked for clarification regarding hospital and physician reimbursement. We will be following the discussions on this bill by the sub-group of Senators. We have a long ways to go.
Regional Policy Board 6 (RPB) meeting: On Thursday and Friday of this week, the agenda for the meeting focused on the repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act. There was considerable discussion on what does affordable mean to indi-viduals and providers. Also discussed was the meaning of value and quality. As you can imagine, we ended the discussions with more questions then what we started with.
The group did hear an update from Rick Pollack and Tom Nickels from AHA. The Republican Party and the White House still have an aggressive deadline to have a bill completed by April 7th. There is a lot of work yet to do and the time is running short.
Thursday ended with a discussion regarding how hospitals and physicians can work more closely on health care policy. Again the process of improving health care with added quality and value is still a long way from being completed.
There are several other RPB meetings being held this month as well. Once all the regions have completed their meetings AHA will combine the information from each into one report. The AHA Board will then produce its recommendations. I will keep you updated as the information comes in.
Click logo to open Bill Tracking Update
AHRQ Stats: Decline in Hospital-Acquired Conditions About 3.1 million fewer hospital-acquired conditions occurred between 2010 and 2015. Most of the decline was due to a 42 percent reduction in adverse drug events, a 23 percent drop in pressure ulcers and a 15 percent reduction in catheter-associated urinary tract infections. (Source: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Na-tional Scorecard on Rates of Hospital-Acquired Conditions 2010 to 2015: Interim Data From National Efforts to Make Health Care Safer.)
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Washington Update ~ John Flink
Once again, health care dominated the news in Washington this week. The House Republican proposal to repeal and replace certain parts of the Affordable Care Act took another step forward, clearing the House Budget Committee despite a report ear-lier in the week that an estimated 14 million Americans would become uninsured in 2018 if the plan became law.
The Budget Committee action, on a 19 to 17 vote, combined measures approved last week by the House Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce Committees into one bill and sent it to the House Rules Committee, the last stop before House floor action, which could come late next week. Three conservative Republicans joined the panel’s Democrats in voting against the measure.
Conservative Republicans in the House Freedom Caucus continue to oppose the bill because it doesn’t go far enough in re-pealing the ACA. Behind the scenes, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) and the White House are working hard to woo Freedom Caucus members as they try to secure the 216 votes needed for passage by the full House. Most likely, Republican leaders will have to move the bill to the right to get the votes they need.
Conservatives on the Budget Committee recommended that the bill’s freeze on Medicaid expansion be moved up from 2020 to 2018 and that a work requirement be added for those covered under the expansion. A bipartisan majority on the panel also recommended the tax credits be modified to benefit low income persons. These could be added to the bill by the Rules Com-mittee.
Meanwhile, a number of moderate Senate Republicans oppose the bill due to its Medicaid changes and potential coverage losses. The Senate is expected to rework whatever bill comes out of the House.
The week began with a long-awaited report from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) that concluded that under the GOP’s American Health Care Act, 28 million Americans would be uninsured by 2026, about double what it is today
The analysis predicts that the number of people without health coverage would rise to 52 million by 2026, compared with 28 million if the ACA remains intact. That would mean about 1 in 5 U.S. residents would be uninsured by 2026 – compared to 1 in 10 uninsured now and 1 in 6 who were uninsured before the ACA was enacted.
The CBO also estimated federal Medicaid spending would be reduced by $880 billion over the same period as the expansion is phased out and a new system capping federal spending per enrollee is instituted.
The nonpartisan budget analyst also suggested the GOP plan’s tax credits could result in dramatically higher insurance costs for some low-income adults, especially seniors. Under the AHCA, tax credits would be available for all whose income is below $115,000 and range from $2,000 a year for young people to $4,000 a year for older Americans.
The ACA provides subsidies based on the income of participants and the insurance costs in their region.
In other news this week, the Senate this week confirmed Seema Verma, an Indiana-based Medicaid consultant, to head the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Hours after she was sworn in, Verma and Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price sent a letter to the nation’s governors urging states to alter Medicaid by imposing insurance premiums, charging beneficia-ries for part of emergency room bills and encouraging them to get jobs.
The letter also criticizes the impact of Medicaid expansion on the traditional Medicaid program, By paying so much for states to cover new beneficiaries, the ACA has “provided states with an incentive to de-prioritize the most vulnerable populations,” Verma and Price said.
The letter makes clear that for now, they will continue to rely on a system in which states must request “waivers” to become exempt from federal rules so they can try different approaches within the program.
Finally, President Trump this week unveiled his proposed budget for FY 2018, which included huge cuts for non-discretionary spending cuts – including to HHS – to offset the cost of his military build-up proposal. Reaction on the Hill was largely skeptical – even among Republicans.
The president’s budget proposal is the first step in the process of funding government for the next year. Once – or if – House Republicans dispose of health care, they plan to put together their budget blueprint, which will guide spending in broad budget-ary categories.
Later in the summer, lawmakers will address specific funding levels for federal programs. As a member of the Senate Appro-priations Committee, Sen. Hoeven will be a key part of that process.
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The Phone Call.....Highlights
On the phone call, try to gather as much information about the candidate as you are sharing about the opportunity. This dialog should be a dance, back and forth, with the candidate. The call should be pleasant for both parties and should be short in duration. The CV tells part of their story, however try to gather more information about them personally; why the interest in our region, and ask them if they have family and friends in the area.
Try to include in your discussions why the opportunity is attractive and some highlights of the position. Transition your con-versation to personnel and medical staff pointing out their attributes. Address your community, housing costs and cost of living; traffic, crime, schools, shopping and extracurricular activities.
Encourage them to come for a visit, trying to accommodate their needs and busy schedule. I encourage a shorter visit and if there is a match or potential match you can always invite them back for a longer stay.
Finally make sure you invite the Spouse or Significant Other to the visit; because these folks are a big part of the decision-making process.
If I can assist you in your physician recruitment efforts, please contact me. I can be reached at [email protected] 701-320-2109
Physician Recruitment ~ Kevin Malee
NDHA’s Annual Convention & Trade Show - October 3-5, 2017 at the Fargo Hilton Garden Inn.
HSI Solution’s Update Conference - October 2-3, 2017 at the Fargo Hilton Garden Inn.
Registration Now Open for WRTS 2017 Registration is now open for the 21st Annual Western Regional Trustee Symposium, taking place June 7-9, 2017 at the Hilton Santa Fe Buffalo Thunder in Santa Fe, New Mexico. This year’s theme, Blazing New Trails in Trustee Governance, reflects the need for strong, experienced leaders in the hospital boardroom as America’s healthcare industry continues along its path to-wards transformation.
The Symposium features a variety of healthcare experts discussing wide-ranging topics of concern to today’s healthcare leader, including the role of the board in quality and patient safety, governance best practices, telemedicine issues, physician relations, the patient experience, plus much more. The Symposium also offers opportunities for networking with other trustees and healthcare executives in the region.
The Western Regional Trustee Symposium is a collaborative educational effort of several hospital associations through the western and midwestern United States.
To learn more about this year’s program, go to www.trusteesymposium.org and click on the “PROGRAM” header to view an electronic registration brochure.
Many people are concerned about the possibility of a public health emergency such as a natural disaster, act of terrorism, or disease outbreak. You can take steps now to help you prepare for an emergency and cope if an emergency happens.
Follow this link for step-by-step actions you can take beforehand to protect yourself and your loved ones.https://emergency.cdc.gov/preparedness/index.asp
Emergency Preparedness and You
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March 2017
Infant & Pediatric AbductionsDate: 03/20/2017 From: 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM
Human Resource StandardsDate: 03/28/2017 From: 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM
Bullying in the Healthcare ProfessionsDate: 03/28/2017 From: 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM
Medical Records Documentation, Modification, Retention & Destruction GuidelinesDate: 03/30/2017 From: 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM
Understanding Peer Review & Performance Improvement ProcessesDate: 03/30/2017 From: 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM
Observation: Coding, Billing and Financial ImpactsDate: 03/30/2017 From: 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM
April 2017
CMS Medical RecordsDate: 04/03/2017 From: 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM
Communicating & Negotiating PersuasivelyDate: 04/04/2017 From: 9:00 AM to 10:30 AM
Texting & Mobile Devices for Practitioners & Patient CommunicationDate: 04/06/2017 From: 12:30 PM to 2:00 PM
Demystifying Healthcare Technology - Part IDate: 04/11/2017 From: 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM
NDHA Education Update
Informed Consent *Presented by Melissa Hauer, NDHA General Counsel
Date: 04/20/2017 From: 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM
CMS Hospital QAPI Standards & WorksheetDate: 04/24/2017 From: 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM
Patient Safety & the Nat’l Patient Safety GoalsDate: 04/25/2017 From: 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM
Demystifying Healthcare Technology - Part IIDate: 04/25/2017 From: 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM
Understanding CMS Credentialing & Privileging Requirements for Hospitals, CAH & Medicare Advantage OrganizationsDate: 04/27/2017 From: 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM
May 2017
CMS Infection Control Worksheet & Proposed ChangesDate: 05/01/2017 From: 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM
Medical Marijuana Update*Presented by Melissa Hauer, NDHA General Counsel
Date: 05/11/2017 From: 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM
The ACA and the New Administration: Changes So Far & What to Expect Date: 05/19/2017 From: 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM
CMS Infection Control Stds & Antibiotic Stewardship ProgramDate: 05/22/2017 From: 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM
Follow this link to register! https://www.ndha.org/education/education-events/
Below is a listing of webinars that may be of interest to you. Registration fees for webinars are $175/NDHA member, and $300/non-member. This fee is “per facility” and you can have as many staff sit in on one connection as you’d like. If a webinar is co-sponsored by either ND HFMA or ND HRMS, individuals who are members of those groups can register at the member rate. Their logo will appear on the flyer if it is co-sponsored by either group.
