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April 18, 2023
In this Issue:
- Consumer Voice and Other Advocates Submit Comments on Proposed Nursing Home Ownership Regulations
- Call for Session Proposals for the 2023 Consumer Voice Conference
- Webinar on the Role of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program in Nursing Facility Closures
- New Podcast Episode on Increasing Scrutiny of Nursing Home Finances
- It's National Volunteer Appreciation Week
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Consumer Voice and Other Advocates Submit Comments on Proposed Nursing Home Ownership Regulations
Consumer Voice, along with other advocates, submitted comments on nursing home ownership regulations recently proposed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The proposed regulations seek to implement ownership disclosure requirements passed as part of the Affordable Care Act in 2010 (ACA). Often referred to as Section 6101, the law was designed to increase transparency of who owns, controls, and operates nursing homes. Consumer Voice supports CMS’s efforts to implement regulations that help pull back the veil on nursing home ownership and control. However, we are concerned that the proposed regulations will not realize the transparency envisioned by the original law. Our comments offer suggestions to strengthen the regulations so that they will achieve the transparency goals passed by Congress over thirteen years ago.
Read More
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Call for Session Proposals for the 2023 Consumer Voice Conference
 Join us for the 2023 Consumer Voice Conference at the Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor.
Consumer Voice's Annual Conference educates and empowers long-term care consumers and consumer advocates. The conference covers long-term care issues, including current trends, best practices, advocacy opportunities, and new research. Attendees have the opportunity to learn, network, and exchange ideas with advocates from all over the country.
Call for Proposals
We are looking for proposals that create an engaging, informative conference agenda that provides resources, tools, opportunities for discussion, and strategies our attendees can incorporate in their life and/or advocacy.
Two easy steps to submit a proposal:
- Review the Call for Proposals and Presenter Requirements.
- Submit your proposal via Survey Monkey. NOTE: You will not be able to save incomplete submissions in SurveyMonkey, so you may want to review and print or save the PDF version of the proposal questions so you can plan your responses prior to starting the submission.
Proposals are due by June 2, 2023. Late or incomplete proposals will not be considered.
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Webinar on the Role of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program in Nursing Facility Closures
Join Consumer Voice and the National Ombudsman Resource Center (NORC) for a webinar on the Role of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program in Nursing Facility Closures on Tuesday, April 25, 2:00 – 3:15pm ET.
Each year, many nursing facilities across the country close their doors. Closures disrupt the lives of the residents living there and too often become chaotic in a variety of ways. The Long-Term Care Ombudsman program (LTCOP) can assist with ensuring that residents receive appropriate notice and that their rights are protected during the closure process. This webinar will explore the role of the LTCOP, review the federal requirements facilities and the state survey agencies must follow, and introduce a new resource. Participants will hear from LTCOP representatives in Kentucky and Iowa.
Register Now
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New Podcast Episode on Increasing Scrutiny of Nursing Home Finances
In a new episode of the Pursuing Quality Long-Term Care podcast, we are sharing audio from Consumer Voice’s webinar that was part of the Dignity for All: Staffing Standards Now! campaign. Through this campaign, Consumer Voice is advocating for a minimum staffing standard in nursing homes.
This discussion highlighted how little accountability there is for how nursing homes spend taxpayer dollars, despite receiving tens of billions of dollars each year in Medicare and Medicaid dollars.
In this episode, you will hear Consumer Voice's Public Policy Director, Sam Brooks, and Attorney, Ernie Tosh discuss the new report, Where do the Billions of Dollars Go? A Look at Nursing Home Related Party Transactions. The report takes an in-depth look at how nursing home owners and operators funnel billions of dollars through companies they own with little to no accountability for how that money is used each year. Sam and Ernie also offer examples and solutions to address this industry-wide problem to ensure public dollars are going toward resident care.
Subscribe to the Pursuing Quality Long-Term Care podcast in Apple Podcasts. Don't have an iPhone? Listen on SoundCloud, Facebook, or our website.
Transparency in nursing home ownership is critical. The Biden Administration is on the brink of implementing important reforms for nursing homes - requiring staffing standards and increasing transparency and accountability for owners and use of public money. We need Members of Congress to show their support for these proposals that will promote meaningful improvements in care for residents. Tell your Members to support nursing home staffing and transparency!
Use our simple online form to send a message to your Members of Congress now.
Thank you to those who have already taken action!
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It's National Volunteer Appreciation Week
In federal fiscal year 2020, there were 5,152 volunteers of the long-term care Ombudsman program trained and designated to investigate and resolve complaints, contributing 250,514 hours of service to Ombudsman programs across in the country. The Independent Sector determined the estimated value of a volunteer hour in 2020 was $27.20. For the Ombudsman program, that is $6.8 million of assets due to volunteer service!
Due to the dedicated service of these volunteers, nursing home resident access to the Ombudsman program is enhanced significantly, and thousands of residents receive information about their rights and have assistance and support in resolving their concerns.
Thank you Ombudsman program volunteers!
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