Washington UpdatePhysician RecruitmentThe Opioid Epidemic: Seeking Solutions in North DakotaHealth Department receives $97,964 from the American Health AssociationHealth Services Executive CredentialNDHA Education Update

Click on link to view attachments:https://www.ndha.org/resources/publications/

Opioid Solutions Brochure

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 Informer

In This Edition:

Attachments:

NDHA Contacts

November 3, 2017

This edition of The Informer sponsored by:

2017-18 NDHA Associate Member

Washington Update ~ John Flink Republicans’ tax plan captured most of the headlines in Washington this week, but there was still plenty of health care news. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) this week released a CH 2018 Medicare outpatient PPS final rule that includes drastic cuts in Medicare payment for drugs acquired through the 340B Drug Pricing Program.

Under the rule, CMS will pay separately payable, non pass-through drugs pur-chased through the program at a rate of the average sales price minus 22.5 percent, rather than the ASP plus 6 percent. Sole community hospitals in rural areas and criti-cal access hospitals will be excepted from this policy for CY 2018.

The final rule also reinstates the moratorium on enforcement of rules governing supervision of outpatient therapeutic services for 2018 and 2019 for CAHs and small rural hospitals with 100 or fewer beds. The agency did not explicitly extend the en-forcement moratorium for CY 2017, but anticipates issuing guidance to address the enforcement policy for CY 2017, AHA reported.

Overall, the final rule is estimated to result in a 1.4 percent net increase in OPPS payments compared to 2017. AHA has issued a detailed summary of the final rule.

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives today approved a five-year extension of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), a two-year extension of Federally Qualified Health Centers and a two-year extension of several other health programs, including the National Health Service Corps and Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education.

The measure, approved by a 242 – 174 margin, also eliminated the FY 2018 and FY 2019 Medicaid disproportionate share hospital reduction mandated by the Af-fordable Care Act. The AHA supported the House bill.

Similar legislation has passed the Senate Finance Committee; however, while the House and Senate agree on the outlines of the CHIP extension, Republicans and Democrats disagree on how to offset the estimated $23 billion cost of the proposal. The House measure would shorten the grace period for consumers who fail to pay their share of premiums for coverage purchased through the ACA and take funds from the ACA’s Prevention and Public Health Fund – both of which Democrats op-pose.

In other action this week, the House voted to repeal the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) created by the ACA. The IPAB authorizes a board – not yet ap-pointed – to identify Medicare spending reductions if overall Medicare spending hits a certain threshold. The bill had bipartisan support, passing by a 307 – 111 margin. The Senate has not taken action on the measure. AHA supported the repeal bill.

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Physician Recruitment ~ Kevin Malee

Placement Strategy

Physician to physician contact is key in the recruitment process. Part of the phone interview screen should include one of our physicians. Candidates connect best with their peers and the earlier we can introduce our local physician(s) to our candi-date, the better.

Physicians are key to placement. During the site visit, it is paramount that our recruitment physician connects (bonds) with our candidate. We all have a role to play in the recruitment process; however physicians are most influential when it comes to recruitment. Our physician(s) involvement needs to be significant during the visit, or we will not be successful in placement.Try to be creative and flexible in our opportunity. If we can offer a 4 day work week or ½ day off during the week, then do so. Big organizations will not have this kind of flexibility, so the more flexible we can be with our opportunity, the more attractive the position.

Always talk about patient quality & continuity of care. This would be a good time to share a story demonstrating this to our visitors. Finally, talk about your community; tell our guests why we like living and working in our community. These personal stories will have a huge impact on our candidate in their decision-making process.

If I can assist you in your physician recruitment efforts, please contact me at northdakotarec@comcast.net or 701-320-2109.

The Opioid Epidemic: Seeking Solutions in North Dakota Misuse and overdose of opioids have become a serious public health problem in North Dakota and throughout the United States. Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota Caring Foundation has partnered with Prairie Public Broadcasting, Bell Banks and Dakota Medical Foundation to produce a 30-minute North Dakota state-based documentary. The documentary spotlights some of the most important things North Dakotans, opioid users, affected families, health care professionals, educators, busi-nesses and community members need to know upfront about the opioid epidemic, and most importantly, how they can drive action in helping to solve the problem. Our vision of hope identifies solutions from multiple facets with focuses on prevention, early intervention, treatment and recovery.

The following is a link to the documentary. You are encouraged to view it and share it broadly with community members, churches, civic groups, schools and others. Also included in this weeks attachments is a printable brochure that can be used to support the documentary. Link to Documentary

NDHA is committed to providing its members with timely educational information in an easily accessible and cost-effective manner. Last month, NDHA provided a free webinar regarding the initiatives of North Dakota healthcare providers, agencies, and law enforcement to combat opioid abuse in our state. As discussed during the webinar, opioid abuse has reached an epi-demic level and healthcare providers play a critical role in reversing this trend. In an effort to provide members with additional information on this important topic, we are providing a link to online controlled substances stewardship provider education modules that Sanford developed to educate its providers about the opioid epidemic. Sanford has kindly allowed us to share these educational modules with NDHA members. You will need to log into the “Members Only” section of the NDHA web site in order to access this information.

Washington Update continued......

The proposed tax bill includes one provision of concern to us: elimination of the tax exemption for private-activity bonds, including qualified 501(c)(3) hospital bonds. As you know, these bonds are essential in helping not-for-profit hospitals access low-cost capital.

The House Ways and Means Committee is expected to begin work on the tax bill on Monday. If your facility would be affected by this change, please contact Rep. Cramer’s office ASAP and urge him to oppose this provision. A special AHA alert this after-noon includes additional details about the proposal.

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Health Department Receives $97,964 From the American Health Association

BISMARCK, N.D. – The North Dakota Department of Health (NDDoH) received a $97,964 from the American Heart Associa-tion (AHA) at a news conference on Thursday, Nov. 2. The funds were made possible by donors who contributed to the Impact Foundation during Giving Hearts Day.

The funds will go to support Cardiac Ready Communities across the state by ensuring rural areas are equipped to handle cardiac emergencies.

North Dakota House Bill 1210 was signed by Governor Burgum this past legislative session, allowing the Department of Health to receive grants and donations in support of the Cardiac Ready Community initiative and to set up a revolving fund. The funds will be utilized to secure lower prices on needed items, such as AEDs. Already two dozen communities are working toward a Cardiac Ready designation, and five have achieved Cardiac Ready Community designation.

According to State Health Officer Mylynn Tufte, “The American Heart Association is our very first gift to this effort, and we greatly appreciate their support of this North Dakota initiative. It is an excellent example of private/public and state/local sup-port working together.”

Learn more about the Cardiac Ready Community project at https://cardiacready.doh.nd.gov or contact Shila Thorson, North Dakota Department of Health, at 701.328.4569.

Pictured: Kendra Krueger (AHA), Shila Thorson (NDDOH), Dr. Jeff Sather (NDDoH), Mylynn Tufte (NDDoH), Karalee Harper (AHA), Alana McClennan (CHI), and Dan Schaeffer (Metro Ambulance).

Health Services Executive Credential North Dakota has their first Health Services Executive. Dan Kelly, CEO of McKenzie County Health Care Systems received this credential this week! Congratulation to Dan. The National Association of LTC Administrators Board (NAB) recently introduced the Health Services Executive ™ (HSE) qualification, a broad-based credential which allows administrators to practice along the continuum of health services and supports and enjoy portability of their HSE license. To earn the HSE qualification, an admin-istrator will document their education, experience and pass a comprehensive exam that covers the core of knowledge from all lines of service, as well as modules in NHA, RCAL and Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS).

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NDHA Education Update 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. All times listed below are central time.

Follow this link to register! https://www.ndha.org/education/education-events/

November 2017

CMS Hospital CoPs on Patient Rights’ StandardsDate: 11/07/2017 From: 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM

The Joint Commission 2018 UpdateDate: 11/09/2017 From: 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM

Evaluation & Management - Strategies for AuditingDate: 11/09/2017 From: 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM

Discharge Planning Worksheet & Standards - CMS CoPsDate: 11/14/2017 From: 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM

Futility and Interpersonal ConflictDate: 11/16/2017 From: 9:30 AM to 11:30 AM

December 2017

Email Fail-Strategies for Reducing Risks from Electronic CommunicationDate: 12/05/2017 From: 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM

Legal Issues Concerning Employees with Psychiatric IllnessesDate: 12/07/2017 From: 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM

Retaining Millennials in Today’s WorkplaceDate: 12/07/2017 From: 12:30 PM to 2:00 PM