Do you know three new things about the federal EMTALA law that every hospital must follow especially the emergency department? What would you do if a CMS surveyor just walked into your hospital to investigate an EMTALA complaint? Don’t be caught off guard. KHREF will host an educational event, "EMTALA Update 2015: The Most Cited Deficiencies by CMS for Hospitals," on March 30 at the Hilton Garden Inn Northeast in Louisville.

View the brochure for details and registration information. If you have any questions, please contact Carol Walters at KHA (502-426-6220 or 800-945-4542 or via email at cwalters@kyha.com).

The Kentucky Rural Health Association educates providers and consumers on rural health issues and advocates actions by private and public leaders to assure equitable access to health care for rural Kentuckians. To learn more, visit www.kyrha.org.

KHA thanks the Kentucky Rural Health Association for their Corporate  level sponsorship. KHA's Annual Sponsorship Program is a great opportunity for organizations looking to build connections and/or establish affiliations or joint ventures with Kentucky's 130 hospitals.  To learn more about KHA's Annual Sponsorship Opportunities, please contact Pam Kirchem at KHA (502-426-6220 or 800-945-4542 or via pkirchem@kyha.com).

Adaptive Medical Partners focuses on placing quality physicians that are a fit to the hospital and practice administrator--and they do this nationwide.  They are proud of the work they have done in rural communities with physician shortage constraints. To learn more, visit www.adaptivemedicalpartners.com.

KHA thanks Innovative Adaptive Medical Partners for their Corporate  level sponsorship. KHA's Annual Sponsorship Program is a great opportunity for organizations looking to build connections and/or establish affiliations or joint ventures with Kentucky's 130 hospitals.  To learn more about KHA's Annual Sponsorship Opportunities, please contact Pam Kirchem at KHA (502-426-6220 or 800-945-4542 or via pkirchem@kyha.com).

Innovative Student Loan Solutions helps full time, hospital employees eliminate student loan debt through strategies that maximize the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. To learn more, visit www.isloansolutions.com.

KHA thanks Innovative Student Loan Solutions for their Corporate  level sponsorship. KHA's Annual Sponsorship Program is a great opportunity for organizations looking to build connections and/or establish affiliations or joint ventures with Kentucky's 130 hospitals.  To learn more about KHA's Annual Sponsorship Opportunities, please contact Pam Kirchem at KHA (502-426-6220 or 800-945-4542 or via pkirchem@kyha.com).

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The KHA Hospital Day at the Legislature has been scheduled for Thursday, February 26, beginning with registration and breakfast at 7:30 a.m., ET at the Frankfort Country Club, 101 Duntreath St., in Frankfort.  Governor Steve Beshear has confirmed that he will speak that morning.

Additionally at the meeting, Kentucky State Auditor Adam Edelen will present his report on rural hospitals.  Also confirmed to speak is Senator Ralph Alvarado, sponsor of key legislation for hospitals.

The program will begin at 8:15 a.m. and adjourn by 10:15 a.m. at which time members are asked to go to the Capitol and meet with their legislators.  Please click this link and complete the registration form to attend.  

All members are asked to schedule their own appointments with their legislators. 

KHA will host a luncheon for all legislators and KHA members.  The luncheon will begin at 12:00 p.m. in Room 125 of the Capitol Annex.  All KHA members are invited and are encouraged to ask their legislators to...

Since 1979, KHA Solutions Group (KHASG) has provided specialized services to hospitals, health care organizations and other industries.  Our history of success reflects our belief that the best client relationships are built upon a foundation of professionalism, integrity and personal service. KHA Solutions Group is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Kentucky Hospital Association. To learn more, visit www.kyha.com/kha-solutions-group-2/.

KHA thanks KHA Solutions Group for their Corporate  level sponsorship. KHA's Annual Sponsorship Program is a great opportunity for organizations looking to build connections and/or establish affiliations or joint ventures with Kentucky's 130 hospitals.  To learn more about KHA's Annual Sponsorship Opportunities,...

Sound Physicians is a physician-founded health care organization driving measurable improvements while lowering the cost of care in the communities they serve.  To learn more, visit www.soundphysicians.com.

KHA thanks Sound Physicians for their Corporate  level sponsorship. KHA's Annual Sponsorship Program is a great opportunity for organizations looking to build connections and/or establish affiliations or joint ventures with Kentucky's 130 hospitals.  To learn more about KHA's Annual Sponsorship Opportunities, please contact Pam Kirchem at KHA (502-426-6220 or 800-945-4542 or via pkirchem@kyha.com).

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Keane Insurance Group specializes is medical professional liability and is one of the largest independent brokers in the country focused completely on medical providers. To learn more, visit www.keanegroup.com.

KHA thanks Keane Insurance Group for their Corporate  level sponsorship. KHA's Annual Sponsorship Program is a great opportunity for organizations looking to build connections and/or establish affiliations or joint ventures with Kentucky's 130 hospitals.  To learn more about KHA's Annual Sponsorship Opportunities, please contact Pam Kirchem at KHA (502-426-6220 or 800-945-4542 or via pkirchem@kyha.com).

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) held a second session on January 15 – on post-acute care and site-neutral payments between skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) and inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs).

What You Need to Know: Commissioners voted unanimously for a recommendation that would make payment site-neutral between IRFs and SNFs for a set of conditions yet to be determined by the Secretary over a three year period. MedPAC believes this recommendation would decrease Medicare payment by between $1 billion and $5 billion without negative impact on beneficiaries.   The Commissioners voted unanimously to support a recommendation that would eliminate the difference in payment between inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs) and skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) for selected conditions.  Reductions in payment to IRFs would be phased in over three years.  Note that the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) would decide which conditions would...

Caretenders is a home health agency that specializes in geriatric patients.  They are senior advocates assisting patients with skilled care in their homes. To learn more, visit www.almostfamily.com.

KHA thanks Caretenders for their Bronze  level sponsorship. KHA's Annual Sponsorship Program is a great opportunity for organizations looking to build connections and/or establish affiliations or joint ventures with Kentucky's 130 hospitals.  To learn more about KHA's Annual Sponsorship Opportunities, please contact Pam Kirchem at KHA (502-426-6220 or 800-945-4542 or via pkirchem@kyha.com).

All Kentucky hospital chief executive officers, chief administrators, hospital board chairs and hospital board members are invited to join Governor Beshear for the Cabinet for Health & Family Services (CHFS)/Kentucky Hospital Association Leadership Summit on January 29 in Frankfort at the Capitol Plaza.

Seating is limited to 150 attendees, and as of today, capacity is at 65 percent. Therefore, please do not delay registering. To attend, you must register using the the CHFS online registration link that was provided in an e-mail from Pam Kirchem of KHA and recently sent to all Kentucky hospital presidents, chief executive officers and chief administrators.  Unless you register using the CHFS link, you are not registered.  

Click the following hyperlinks for a copy of the Partnering on the Pathway to a Healthier Kentucky: Successfully Transforming our System of Care Leadership Summit Agenda and lineup of speakers.

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By a letter dated December 16, 2014, The Department for Medicaid Services (DMS) distributed preliminary reconciliation of the Wrap-around payments made to Rural Health Centers (RHCs) and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) for the for dates of service November 1, 2011, through June 30, 2014.  

DMS is unable to provide KHA with a list of hospitals that received the letter, therefore, yesterday KHA sent this correspondence to all Kentucky hospital chief financial officers.   

There are at least three significant problem areas in the reconciliations that DMS distributed to providers: the Coventry Claims for all practical purposes are excluded from the reconciliation, many dental-related claims are not included and Dual Eligibles are understated as a result of the Medicaid managed care organizations (MCOs) initially denying the claims instead of processing them as “Zero Pay” that would have allowed that visit to be included in the volume count.

A 30-day extension will be granted to all hospitals that make a request to DMS. Requests are to be sent to David Dennis and he will forward them to Myers and Stauffer.  E-mailed requests for an extension will be accepted.  David Dennis’ email is:  David.Dennis@ky.gov...

In yesterday's KHA Health e-News, there was an Op-ed by Tom Jones that appeared in Monday's Lexington Herald.  Mr. Jones is a managed care insurance consultant in Hopkinsville.  In the op-ed, Jones explains the nature of many critical factors that will be a deciding factor in whether or not Kynect will be successful.  These include the sheer number of unhealthy and poor Kentuckians; the insufficient number of doctors to serve the population; the lack of primary-care physicians, and therefore, the likelihood that patients will continue to seek care as they always have--in the local hospital's emergency department.  

Every Kentucky hospital administrator should read the op-ed available via the hyperlink above.

With the session underway, now is a great time to make sure you are receiving copies of the KHA Legislative Bulletins.  All are made available on the KHA Website under the "advocacy" tab.  

Click the following hyperlink for a copy of the January 12 Bulletin.  

If you have any questions, or if you would like to register others to receive the KHA Legislative Bulletins, please contact Denise Amburgey at KHA (502-426-6220 or 800-945-4542 or via email at damburgey@kyha.com).

KHA is now accepting applications for the Annual KHA Quality Award. Please see the application for the full details. Applications, including full payment are due on March 20.

If you have any questions, please contact Elizabeth Cobb at KHA (502-426-6220 or 800-945-4542 or via email at ecobb@kyha.com).

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced that the deadline for Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), using Method II billing to report on the Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) is February 28.

While the deadline is urgent for CAHs, some Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) may also be required to submit data to PQRS by the same deadline.  Particularly, those RHCs owned and operated by CAHs should be increasingly aware of the PQRS regulations.  

Who else should report?

Eligible Providers (EPs) who submit claims and are paid under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) using the 1500 Claim Form and required to participate in PQRS and will be subject to the "payment adjustment" for those 1500 Claim Form submissions.

If the EPs submitted claims under the Medicare PFS using the UB-04 Claim Form, they are exempt from PQRS penalties.

Ask yourself: Did the Eligible Professional (physician, PA, NP, etc.) seek Medicare payment using a 1500 claim form in precious years,...

The 2015 KHA Salary Survey Questionnaire has been made available to all human resources professionals at Kentucky hospitals.  Data Submissions are due by February 2 and results will be made available in April, at no charge to participating hospitals.  KHA has also incorporated the 2015 Workforce Survey into this questionnaire.  

The survey will collect valuable information on vacancies and separations for approximately 30 key health care positions. Completing all sections of the survey is a requirement to receive compensation survey results.  

If you have any questions, please contact Kim Dees at KHA (502-426-6220 or 800-945-4542 or via email at kdees@kyha.com or Chuck Warnick at the same numbers and via email at cwarnick@kyha.com).

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Laboratory Corporation of America provides leading-edge medical laboratory tests and services through a national network of primary clinical laboratories and specialty testing laboratories.  To learn more, visit www.labcorp.com.

KHA thanks Laboratory Corporation of America for their bronze  level sponsorship. KHA's Annual Sponsorship Program is a great opportunity for organizations looking to build connections and/or establish affiliations or joint ventures with Kentucky's 130 hospitals.  To learn more about KHA's Annual Sponsorship Opportunities, please contact Pam Kirchem at...