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CMS Moves to Strengthen Nursing Home Safety and Clarity of Consumer Info

Published in RINewsToday on January 23, 2023

To improve transparency of nursing home consumer information, the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), will now post Care Compare citations that are under dispute by nursing homes on its website.  CMS will also take steps to protect nursing home residents from being inappropriately diagnosed with schizophrenia which oftentimes leads to improper use of anti-psychotic medications to sedate and chemically restrain residents.

“We have made significant progress in decreasing the inappropriate use of antipsychotic medications in nursing homes, but more needs to be done,” said CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, announcing the new guidance this week. “People in nursing homes deserve safe, high-quality care, and we are redoubling our oversight efforts to make sure that facilities are not prescribing unnecessary medications,” she says.

CMS’s actions advance President Biden’s goal of reinforcing safeguards against unnecessary medication use and treatments that was outlined in his State of the Union address to create an Action Plan for “Protecting Seniors by Improving Safety and Quality of Care in the Nation’s Nursing Homes.”

Tackling the inappropriate drugging of Nursing Home residents

Beginning this month, CMS will conduct targeted, off-site audits of nursing homes to determine whether facilities are accurately assessing and coding individuals with a schizophrenia diagnosis. Nursing home residents erroneously diagnosed with schizophrenia are at risk of receiving poor care and being prescribed inappropriate anti-psychotic medications. Anti-psychotic medications are especially dangerous to these residents due to their potential devastating side effects, including death.

According to the Washington, DC-based National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care, in 2008, CMS first introduced a quality measure in its Care Compare rating system that calculates the percentage of long-stay residents (over 100 days) that were receiving anti-psychotic medications. This quality measure was initially introduced to address the practice of some nursing homes of illegally using anti-psychotic medications to sedate residents with dementia or other increased patient care needs, rather than providing appropriate hands-on care interventions.

The measure, excluding residents with certain diagnoses, including schizophrenia, Huntington’s disease, and Tourette’s syndrome, resulted in some nursing homes improperly diagnosing residents with schizophrenia, observed the Consumer Voice, a national organization representing consumers in issues related to long-term care, helping to ensure consumers are empowered to advocate for themselves.      

CMS’s new guidance acknowledges that there has been a steady rise in schizophrenia diagnoses since the quality measure was first introduced, charges the Consumer Voice, noting that it comes on the heels of a report issued by the Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (OIG) which found that from 2015-2019 there was a 194% increase in the number of residents diagnosed with schizophrenia who did not have that diagnosis prior to admission to the nursing home.

“It is important to note that it is extremely rare for schizophrenia to suddenly occur in older people,” says the Consumer Voice, stating that the onset of schizophrenia generally occurs in someone’s late teens through their twenties.

CMS announced that it will begin to conduct audits of nursing homes with high rates of schizophrenia diagnoses and “examine the facility’s evidence for appropriately documenting, assessing, and coding a diagnosis of schizophrenia.” Facilities that have “inaccuracies” will have their Five-Star Quality Measure Rating adjusted. CMS will downgrade the facility’s Quality Measure ratings to one star, which would drop their Overall Star Rating as well. CMS will monitor each facility’s data to determine whether they have addressed the identified issues. After that, CMS will decide whether any downgrades should be reversed.

While Consumer Voice has expressed significant concern with the accuracy of CMS’s Quality Measure, it supports these actions. The Quality Measure rating often inflates a facility’s overall 5-Star rating on Care Compare. This action will help incentivize compliance and make sure the public is aware of these illegal practices in nursing homes, says the consumer advocacy group.

Increased transparency

Separately, CMS announced it plans to take a new step to increase the transparency of nursing home information provided to consumers by publicly displaying survey citations that facilities are disputing. Currently, when a facility disputes a survey deficiency, that deficiency is not posted to Care Compare until the dispute process is complete. This process usually takes approximately 60 days; however, some cases can take longer. 

Although the number of actual deficiencies under dispute is relatively small, they can include severe instances of non-compliance such as Immediate Jeopardy (IJ) citations. This level of citation occurs when the health and safety of residents could be at risk for serious injury, serious harm, serious impairment, or death. Displaying this information while it is under dispute can help consumers make more informed choices when it comes to evaluating and choosing a facility. This new information will begin appearing on Care Compare on January 25th. While citations will be publicly displayed, they will not be included in the Five-Star Quality Rating calculation until the dispute is complete. 

“We support anything that CMS can reasonably do to improve the health and safety of seniors in long-term care, especially those with cognitive impairment. When it comes to the nursing home industry’s concerns about new CMS rules, we think it’s best to err on the side of transparency. Seniors and their families need as much information as possible to make informed decisions about long-term care,” says a spokesperson for the Washington, DC-based National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, an advocacy group whose mission is to protect Social Security and Medicare.

Local reaction:  “You cannot un-ring a bell”

RI Health Care Association

“We fully support improving nursing home transparency, safety and quality, and accountability regarding our members’ service to the residents and patients entrusted to their care,” says John E. Gage, President and CEO of Rhode Island’s Health Care Association, representing 64 of the 80 nursing facilities in the state. “Eliminating any inappropriate use of psychotropic medications and ensuring the highest quality of care is a shared focus of both CMS and RIHCA,” notes Gage.

“We strongly disagree with CMS’ decision to post of deficiencies that are in the process of being disputed through established CMS policies, regardless of their scope and severity, says Gage. “Posting deficiencies that, in many instances, are incorrect, inaccurately cited or cited at an inappropriate level of scope and severity, during an approved appeals process is unfair and could damage a facility’s reputation unfairly,” he adds.

According to Gage, doing this is akin to convicting someone before their full trial, (prosecution and defense alike) before the verdict is announced. “You cannot “un-ring a bell,” he says.

“As mentioned by CMS, we are just talking about a relatively small number of deficiencies,” states Gage. Rather than potentially posting erroneous deficiencies, he calls on CMS to speed up the process of conducting Informal Dispute Resolutions (IDRs) or Independent Dispute Resolutions (IIDRs) to no more than forty-five (45) days to ensure that accurate information is posted timely. IDRs and IIDRs are two different options from CMS that nursing homes can choose to appeal of cited deficiencies.

“As to the changes to the public reporting and the Five-Star Quality Rating System, we are disappointed that the Biden Administration and CMS have apparently made this determination administratively, without any comment period to allow for an opportunity for nursing homes and the public to provide feedback,” says Gage.

LeadingAge RI

“I appreciate CMS’s goal of increasing oversight of unnecessary antipsychotic medication use, although it should be noted that there has been a National Partnership to reduce the unnecessary use of antipsychotic drugs for years, so the industry has been very engaged in these efforts already,” notes James Nyberg, Executive Director of LeadingAge RI, a not-for-profit membership organization comprised of not-for-profit providers of aging services. 

Nyberg expresses concern about CMS posting deficiencies that are under dispute publicly. “That is taking a guilty before proven innocent approach, which is unfair and detrimental to providers. There is an existing process to resolve disputes over deficiencies, and this seems to short-circuit it, especially when deficiencies can be/and are overturned during the process.  One more blow to a beleaguered industry,” he says.

Long-Term Care Ombudsman

“The inappropriate use of antipsychotic medications in nursing homes has been an on ongoing issue for many years,” observes Kathleen Heren, Rhode Island’s Long-Term Care Ombudsman. “It takes a skilled practitioner who gives a battery of tests to diagnose someone with schizophrenia. This shouldn’t be determined by a hospital intern who spends 20 minutes with an agitated resident in a hospital emergency room,” she says.

According to Heren, schizophrenia has an early onset [about 4% of schizophrenia arise before the age of 15, and about 1% before the age of 10].  A 78-year -old resident does not become schizophrenic all of a sudden because he or she is agitated. “I can say that I have not seen many deficiencies given to Rhode Island nursing homes for overusing anti-psychotic medications,” she says, because of the efforts of  Health Care Centrics, Rhode Island’s Quality Assurance organization, that has provided in-depth staff training on the use of these drugs. The surveyors from the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDoH) are very quick to cite facilities for not following guidelines in the inappropriate use of these drugs.

Heren says that there have been cases where RIDOH has rescinded a deficiency based on the input received by the survey team during the Informal Dispute Resolution process. “There are some facilities that are continually receiving deficiencies and that families should be able to see why a deficiency was given and a facilities response as to why it was considered unfair,” she says.

CMS Actions promote quality of care

RI Department of Health

“At the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDoH), one of our major focus areas is monitoring and ensuring that nursing homes and other healthcare facilities provide the highest quality of care and services in a clean and safe environment, says Joseph Wendelken, RIDoH’s Public Information Officer. 

“We will continue to do everything we can to protect patients and residents, which includes following any new CMS protocols and partnering with CMS on new initiatives,” Wendelken says. 

Senior Agenda Coalition of RI

Adds Maureen Maigret, Policy Advisor for the Senior Agenda Coalition of RI, “Rhode Island nursing homes have generally provided good quality of care over the years,” acknowledging that improvements can always be made. “Both of these changes are intended to promote better quality care,” she says. “If people are erroneously coded as having schizophrenia, they may be subject to poorer care and harmed by being prescribed inappropriate medication. Posting inspection citations under dispute on Nursing Home Compare with a notation they are under dispute is important in that resolution of the dispute could take 60 days or longer and in the meantime the public remains unaware of what could be significant deficiencies which could impact their decisions,” states Maigret says.

The QSO memo — Updates to the Nursing Home Care Compare website and Five-Star Quality Rating System: Adjusting Quality Measure Ratings Based on Erroneous Schizophrenia Coding, and Posting Citations Under Dispute — is available here for review:

https://www.cms.gov/medicare/provider-enrollment-and-certification/surveycertificationgeninfo/policy-and-memos-states/updates-nursing-home-care-compare-website-and-five-star-quality-rating-system-adjusting-quality

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AARP Tele-Town Hall Informs Seniors What They Need to Know About COVID-19

Published in the Woonsocket Call on March 15, 2020

Twenty-four-hour programming on cable television, television networks, talk radio and newspapers report the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) across the nation. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), just days ago there were about 700 confirmed and presumed U.S. cases from 38 jurisdictions, that’s 36 states and New York and D.C. There are more than 100,000 cases worldwide. CDC officials expect this count to go up. counts to go up.

At the AARP’s Coronavirus Information Tele-Town Hall event, held Tuesday, March 10, federal health experts gathered to the symptoms of COVID-19, how to protect yourself, and what it means for older adults and family caregivers. The event was moderated by AARP’s Vice President of Content Strategy and; Communications Bill Walsh and featured Admiral Brett P. Giroir, M.D., , Assistant Secretary for Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Nancy Messonnier, M.D., and internist and Director of CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases; and Seema Verma, Administrator at the Centers for Medicare and; Medicaid Services.

The invited experts warned seniors to take heed. People age 60 and over are at high risk of catching COVID-19, it’s severity especially for those with underlying medical conditions.

Getting the Best Source of Medical Information

According to AARP’s Walsh, the Washington, DC-based nonprofit convened the tele-town hall about coronavirus in an effort to protect the public. “While we see an important role for AARP to play in providing consumer information and advocacy related to the virus, the public should be aware the best source of medical information is the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,” he said.

At this briefing Messonnier noted that reports out of China that looked at more than 70,000 COVID-19 patients and found that about 80 percent who had the virus had a mild case and recovered. About 15 percent to 20 percent developed a serious illness.

The COVID-19 virus affects adults, especially seniors, says Messonnier. noting that people over age 60 are at a higher risk of becoming seriously ill from this virus, especially if they have underlying health conditions such as diabetes, heart disease.

Although younger people with underlying health problems are also at risk, the top official at CDC stressed that older people with health problems are the most vulnerable. She noted that her parents are in their 80s, and even though they don’t live in community reported to have the virus, she advised them to stay close to home.

CDC’s Messonnier suggested that seniors stock up on over-the-counter medications to treat fever, cough and other symptoms, as well as tissues, common medical supplies, and routine medications for blood pressure and diabetes.

Although there is no vaccine to prevent coronavirus and there are no specific medicines to treat it., there are many things you can do to prevent the illness, says Messonnier. She urged seniors to avoid contact with people who are sick. Keeping the COVID-19 virus at bay can be as simple as simply washing your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing, or having been in a public place, she said, urging seniors to wash your hands after touching surfaces in public places. If soap and water are not available, use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol [if you can find it].

Messonnier warns seniors to avoid touching high-touch surfaces in public places – like elevator buttons, door handles, handrails, handshaking with people, etc. Use a tissue or your sleeve to cover your hand or finger if you must touch something. It’s difficult for many but just avoid touching your face, nose, and eyes, she says.

Messonnier also suggested that seniors to clean and disinfect their homes to remove germs: practice routine cleaning of frequently touched surfaces (for example: tables, doorknobs, light switches, handles, desks, toilets, faucets, sinks & cell phone). Also, avoid crowds, especially in poorly ventilated spaces. Your risk of exposure to respiratory viruses like COVID-19 may increase in crowded, closed-in settings with little air circulation if there are people in the crowd who are sick.

Avoid all non-essential travel including plane trips, and especially avoid embarking on cruise ships, warns Messonnier.

Messonnier also called on people over age 6o to follow “social distancing strategies,” such as teleworking and avoiding crowds, especially in poorly ventilated spaces. This might mean that if your grandchild has a fever and runny nose, it may not be the right time to visit, she says.

“If COVID-19 begins spreading in your community, keep in touch family and friends by phone or email to let them know how you are doing,” recommends Messonnier. Consider ways of getting foods brought to your house through family, social, or commercial networks. Have at least three days of household items and groceries on hand so that you will be prepared to stay at home for an extended period of time, she adds.

And if you rely on a caregiver for routine help, make arrangements for backup care in case your primary caregiver becomes sick, suggests Messonnier.

Seema Verma, who oversees the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, reported that major health insurers are now responding to the pandemic coronavirus outbreak by pledging to relax prescription refill limits on “maintenance medication” for Medicare Advantage and Part D beneficiaries.

Hot Off the Press…

“No matter what type of [Medicare] program you are in, you can get a coronavirus test with no cost sharing, Verma announced noting that she has gotten a commitment from insurance companies to also cover coronavirus tests with no cost-sharing.

Medicare now pays for telehealth services. “You can Skype with them. You can send them pictures, and all of those are covered services, so your doctor can bill for those particular services, says Verma.

If you have difficulty stocking up on your prescriptions at the pharmacy, consider refilling your medications with a mail-order service, recommends DHHS’s Giroir. Ask your physician to switch your prescription from a 30-day supply to a 90-day supply to “keep you out of the doctor’s office or a crowded grocery store or pharmacy,” he adds.

“This is not the time to panic. Stay informed, take it seriously because it can be a serious disease, stay up to date. We are committed to doing whatever we can to communicate,” says Giroir, noting that CDC’s website is a great source of information, but you want to know what is going on in your local community because that is where you get the most direct information about the risk.

For details, about COVID-19, go to https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html. Also, go to https://health.ri.gov/diseases/ncov2019/.
Here’s a transcript of the event: https://www.aarp.org/health/conditions-treatments/info-2020/tele-town-hall-coronavirus.html.

Democratic House Passes Landmark Legislation to Drive Down Spiraling Prescription Drug Costs

Published in the Woonsocket Call on December 16, 2019

Just days ago, the Democratic House leadership successfully pushed for passage of landmark legislation, the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act (H.R. 3), that would give Medicare the power to negotiate directly with drug companies to bring down pharmaceutical prices and make those savings available to seniors.

House Democrats passed Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s sweeping legislation on Dec. 12 to lower the cost of prescription drugs on a largely party-line vote. The bill, which passed 230 to 192 with unanimous Democratic support and the backing of two Republicans, Reps Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Penn) and Jamie Herrera Beutler (R-Wash), is considered “dead on arrival” in the Senate. The White House has indicated President Trump would veto H.R. 3 it if it came to his desk.

The House Republicans fought to block passage of H.R. 3 by releasing their own legislative proposal, H.R. 19, to lower drug costs. The bill, consisting of bipartisan legislative provisions to lower drug costs that had already been adopted, would have achieved lower drug prices without imposing government price controls that House Republicans believed would decrease research and development spending for new drug cures.

Although House Republican Whip Steve Scalise called on the Democratic leadership to bring H.R. 19, with 135 sponsors and no Democrats, to the House Floor, the GOP proposal did not receive a vote on its own. It was offered by Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) as an amendment to H.R. 3 and failed by a vote of 201 to 223, getting eight Democrat votes.

The Nuts and Bolts

H.R. 3 would put the brakes of spiraling drug cost by giving power to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to negotiate directly with drug companies to force real price reductions while also ensuring that seniors never lose access to the medicines they need. The legislation also expands access to the lower, negotiated drug prices to persons with private insurance, not just Medicare beneficiaries.

The 320-page House bill also prevents pharmaceutical companies from price gouging patients by capping the maximum price for a negotiated drug at the average price people in countries similar to the U.S. pay. It would create a brand new, $2,000 out-of-pocket limit on prescription drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries and even delivers vision, dental, and hearing benefits to Medicare beneficiaries for the first time.

H.R. 3 also increases the number of low-income seniors eligible for assistance with their drug costs and cost sharing for hospital and doctor visits. By extending guaranteed issue protections to disabled beneficiaries and to individuals who want to switch from Medicare Advantage to traditional Medicare, the legislation improves access to private supplemental coverage that helps fill in Medicare’s gaps for beneficiaries in traditional Medicare.

“The U.S. House of Representatives resoundingly defied Big Pharma today by-passing historic legislation to lower prescription drug prices for America’s seniors and their families. The Lower Drug Costs Now Act (H.R. 3) accomplishes what we and other advocates have long demanded — that Medicare be empowered to negotiate prices with pharmaceutical companies, which the CBO says will save more than $450 billion in drug costs. It also caps Medicare beneficiaries’ out-of-pocket prescription drug costs at $2,000 per year, says Max Richtman, president and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, in a statement.

The Pros and Cons of H.R. 3

Richtman says that it is time for the Senate Chamber to act. Drug pricing legislation that passed by the Senate Finance Committee has not been brought up for a vote on the Senate floor. “We insist that the Senate follow the House’s lead and act now to lift the burden of crushing prescription drug prices. Seniors who have been rationing pills or foregoing other necessities in order to afford crucial medications have waited long enough,” he says.

In a statement released following House passage of H.R. 3, AARP Executive Vice President and Chief Advocacy and Engagement Officer Nancy LeaMond, called the legislation” a bold step toward lowering prescription drug prices and high out-of-pocket costs for millions of older Americans.”
“High drug prices disproportionately hurt older Americans, particularly Medicare Part D enrollees, who take between four and five prescription medications each month and have an average annual income of just over $26,000 a year. The average annual price of a specialty drug used on a chronic basis is now $79,000. Medications cannot work if they are unaffordable, says LeaMond.

Adds AARP Rhode Island State Director Kathleen Connell, “Drug companies are price-gouging older Americans and taxpayers– who pay the highest drug costs in the world,” noting that “AARP is proud to support H.R. 3, which would allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices and cap out-of-pocket costs for Part D enrollees. The bill also enhances Medicare by improving access and adding needed dental, hearing, and vision coverage.”

Opposing the passage of H.R. 3, the White House says in a statement, “Heavy-handed government intervention may reduce drug prices in the short term, but these savings are not worth the long-term cost of American patients losing access to new lifesaving treatments.” Noting that lowering the price of prescription drugs is major concern for seniors, the White Houses warned that H.R. 3 is the wrong approach to address this issue, “especially when bipartisan legislative alternatives that encourage innovation while lowering prescription drug

During a briefing with reporters over two months ago, President and CEO Stephen Ubl, of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), warned the passage of H.R.3 would trigger “nuclear winter” for biotech innovation. Fiercely opposing passage, PhRMA has called on the Senate to “stop H.R. 3 in its tracks.”

Putting the Brakes on Rising Drug Costs in Rhode Island

“We all know someone who has been forced to ration the medication they need to live so that they can afford to keep a roof over their family’s heads or put food on the table. In America, in 2019, this should never be the case,” said Congressman David N. Cicilline (D-RI), who voted to pass the measure. “Pharmaceutical companies have abused American patients and taxpayers to increase their profits hand over fist without recourse for too long. The Lower Drug Costs Now Act will put an end to the price gouging by big pharma that sees American patients and taxpayers paying more for their prescription drugs than people in other countries, says the Rhode Island Congressman representing the state’s first congressional district.

In his 2016 campaign, President Donald J. Trump supported the government to negotiate drug prices. Cicilline calls on the president to honor this promise and urges Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to bring a companion measure to the Senate floor for consideration. At press time more than 300 House passed bills are stuck in the Senate (about 275 are bipartisan).

According to Cicilline, the out-of-pocket savings to Rhode Islanders will be substantial. “This year alone, more than 1,000 women in the state will be diagnosed with breast cancer, 550 people will be told they have prostate cancer, and 190 folks will be diagnosed with leukemia. H.R. 3 will lower the average costs of many popular medications for these and other cancer treatments. The cost of Ibrance for treating breast cancer will be reduced by as much as 65 percent. Zytiga, a common prescription for people with prostate cancer, will be reduced by as much as 66 percent. And the cost of Tasigna, which is commonly prescribed to people with leukemia, will go down by as much as 71 percent,” says Cicilline, who serves as the Democratic Policy and Communication Committee Chair.

Earlier this year, the Rhode Island Congressman released information detailing how much more Rhode Islanders with diabetes pay for their insulin than people in other countries. Currently, 8.6 percent of Rhode Islanders, just over 83,000 people, have diabetes. They pay from $1,200 to $20,000 per year for the most commonly used insulin medications. Under the newly passed H.R. 3, the average total cost of NovoLOG Flexpen, a common insulin medicine, would decrease by as much as 76 percent. Under H.R. 3, Rhode Islanders could spend 3.5 times less on insulin, and some of the commonly used insulins could cost as little as $400 per year.

According to Cicilline, seniors in his Congressional District will see Medicare improvements if H.R. 3 becomes law. At this time, Medicare does not provide coverage for: oral exams for 71 percent of beneficiaries, eye exams for 66 percent of beneficiaries, hearing exams for 66 percent of beneficiaries, dental exams for 75 percent of beneficiaries, eye glasses for 75 percent of beneficiaries, and hearing aids for 86 percent beneficiaries.

Under H.R. 3’s Medicare expansion, 93 percent of beneficiaries (98,800 people) stand to gain from adding a dental benefit, 75 percent of beneficiaries stand to gain from adding a vision benefit, and 97 percent (102,700 people) of beneficiaries stand to gain from adding a hearing benefit.

On December 6, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) released an updated version of their bipartisan Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act of 201. Will McConnell, who controls its legislative fate, allow it to be considered on the Senate floor? Can a conference committee iron out the different between a Senate bill and H.R. 3, that can be pass both chambers and be signed by the president?

The legislative clock is ticking. It’s 324 days until the upcoming 2020 presidential election and the voters are demanding Congress to put aside philosophical policy differences and come up with a compromise that will truly put the brakes on rising drug costs. We’ll see.

Herb Weiss, LRI’12, is a Pawtucket writer covering aging, health care and medical issues. To purchase Taking Charge: Collected Stories on Aging Boldly, a collection of 79 of his weekly commentaries, go to herbweiss.com.