In this issue
Member
spotlight: Fairview Health Services’ scholarship program encourages career
development
This past spring, the Minnesota Hospital Association (MHA)
recognized Fairview Health Services with the 2015 Health Care Workforce
Champion award for its comprehensive scholarship program. The program was
designed to encourage educational career development for employees, employee
dependents and community residents and to sustain a workforce pipeline. Since
1996, the program has included hundreds of scholarship awards to assist
individuals who are interested in furthering their education in the health care
industry. Offering these incentives to employees and the community allows
Fairview to grow its health care pipeline, both in direct and non-direct
patient care roles. The program contributes to health care career exploration,
employee engagement and diversity pipeline expansion, as well as provides an
employee benefit that is unique to the health care field. To learn more about
this award winner, click here. return to top
Notification
requirement of observation status begins July 1
Effective July 1, a new state law similar to existing Medicare
regulations requires all Minnesota hospitals to provide both oral and written
patient notification of placement in observation status within 24 hours and to
document the date of the notice in the patient’s record. It also requires
hospitals to follow certain federal discharge planning rules.
To comply with the notice of observation status requirement, hospitals must
explain that observation status may affect the patient’s Medicare coverage for
hospital services, including medications and pharmaceutical supplies, home or
community-based care or care at a skilled nursing facility upon the patient’s
discharge. Because the notice requirement is specific to informing patients
about their Medicare benefits, MHA interprets the law as requiring notice to
Medicare patients only.
The state law reflects the growing frustration with Medicare rules that place
significantly greater financial burdens on individual beneficiaries and impose
troubling barriers for them to access the care they need. MHA and the American
Hospital Association (AHA) have called on Congress to enact federal legislation
ensuring that Medicare beneficiaries get the full extent of their acute,
post-acute, pharmaceutical and other benefits regardless of whether Medicare
considers their hospital care status to be “inpatient” or “observation.”
“Medicare’s rules allow Medicare to avoid paying for appropriate care its
beneficiaries receive,” said Lawrence Massa, MHA president and CEO. “The rules
certainly aren’t good for our seniors or their families, for hospitals, for
post-acute and long-term care providers or for the state’s Medicaid program
that often shoulders greater costs.”
The new state law also requires hospitals to conduct a discharge planning
evaluation and provide a Medicare patient with information regarding Medicare-eligible
home care agencies or skilled nursing facilities in the patient’s geographic
area if needed. Once the patient has made a choice, the hospital is to assist
the patient in securing care covered by the patient’s insurance. The hospital
is to document in the patient record that the list of agencies or facilities
was provided.
The new state law provisions can be found here. For more information about the law or
other state legislative issues, contact Mary Krinkie, MHA vice president of government
relations, 651-659-1465, or Kristin Loncorich, MHA director of government
relations, 651-603-3526. return to top
Strengthening
Healthy Communities update
It has been six months since MHA publicly launched the
Minnesota’s Hospitals: Strengthening Healthy Communities campaign. Since then, more than 6 million Minnesotans have
viewed the campaign ads or sponsored content. More than a third
of people visiting the campaign website have returned to read content. Here are
a few other highlights:
- To date, 15 original stories,
including two videos, have been created for the website. If you haven’t
viewed the website recently, visit www.mnhealthycommunities.org.
- Stories have come from all
around the state representing the diversity of MHA members – rural and
metro, small and large, system and independent.
We continue to encourage communications and social media
managers to share and like the stories posted on the campaign’s Facebook page in order to broaden the
campaign’s reach to their external audiences and employees. If you have
compelling story ideas, contact Ashley Gauster, MHA member services and
communications specialist, 651-603-3545. return to top
MHA
Member Center online resources available
The MHA Member Center
features important resources and information specifically for MHA members, such
as:
- An online membership directory,
with up-to-date information on all MHA member hospitals and health systems
and contact information of key staff
- Timely updates and members-only
documents including key messages, fact sheets and resources on pertinent
hospital issues, such as medical cannabis
The Member Center is username and password protected. For login
information, contact Ashley Gauster, member services and
communications specialist, 651-603-3545. return to top
MHA
Annual Meeting brochure available online
This September, hospital leaders will gather to
hear from exceptional, forward-thinking speakers on ways to move health care
forward and to network and share best practices with colleagues from around the
state. The theme of this year’s Annual Meeting is “Responding to New Health
Care Challenges” and is especially appropriate as we learn to address
challenges of reform and focus more intently on our goals and priorities as
health care organizations.
The MHA Annual Meeting will be held Sept. 16-18 at Madden’s on Gull Lake in
Brainerd. The schedule and brochure are now available
online. Click here to make reservations online at Madden’s
or to purchase meal tickets as a day guest. return to top