If you missed NASL’s 28th Annual Meeting last week at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas (#VegasStrong), you missed a lot. Record-breaking attendance was just the start. The conference featured a stellar lineup of speakers on key emerging issues, and, veteran attendees have told us that the discussions and insights shared this time around were incredibly helpful.

Much of the crowd joined us first at the fourth annual NASL-AHCA Rehab Symposium, which was held early Sunday morning a mere 2,000 steps away – undoubtedly contributing to the full plates we saw at NASL’s “Welcome to Vegas Social.”

NASL’s 28th Annual Meeting began in earnest with our “Afternoon with RCS-1” and an impressive panel, who dissected proposed changes and impacts of CMS’ move to a new SNF Part A payment model. Sherill Mason, Principal of Mason Advisors, facilitated the discussion among panelists Sheryl Buckoltz-Rosenfeld, Director of Clinical Operations for Zimmet Healthcare Services Group; Robert “Bobby” Choi, Chief Strategy Officer & Founding Partner of Collain Healthcare, LG CNS Healthcare Solutions; Leigh Ann Frick, President of Care Navigation Consulting; Peggy Gourgues, Chief Operating Officer for Reliant Rehabilitation; and Joanne Wisely, Vice President – Legislative Advocacy at Genesis Rehab Services. 

Following our deep dive into RCS-1, NASL tackled another tough, but critical subject – cybersecurity. John DiMaggio, CEO of Blue Orange Compliance, took us through some scary statistics before sharing best practices to safeguard against the increasing threats of data breaches, hackers and ransomware. 

Next, NASL Policy Counsel Michaela Sims and NASL EVP Cynthia Morton delivered a policy update that highlighted key issues and significant legislative victories we’ve secured over the past year. Covering the latest on the various Affordable Act (ACA) repeal and replace efforts, including stopping the devastating Medicaid cuts that were a part of the ACA repeal bills. The two also detailed the path forward for efforts to repeal the Medicare Part B Therapy Caps, and made sense of the confusing politics we’re experiencing this year. In addition, their presentation outlined a possible new direction for the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI); the latest regarding Payroll Based Journaling (PBJ); the movement away from mandatory bundling; and the growing support for telemedicine. Other topics flagged by Cynthia and Michaela were MedPAC, the Home Health Groupings Model (HHGM), the Bundled Payment for Care Initiative (BPCI), the Requirements of Participation (RoPs), Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), Chronic Care Management CPT Codes, FY2017 spending by Congress and Medicaid reform.

After such an intense afternoon, we were grateful to gather for a splendid Opening Night Reception in the Mandalay Bay’s beautiful Palm Foyer with views of the mountains just beyond the infamous Las Vegas Strip.

We resumed on Monday morning with NASL’s Annual President’s Breakfast, featuring “A Chat with the NASL President and Staff.” NASL  Board President John Damgaard encouraged members to use the open forum to ask questions, to get to know staff and to provide feedback on how we might improve NASL. Next on the docket was the Annual Business Meeting where we introduced newly elected members and the entire NASL Board of Directors for 2017 – 2018. NASL also proudly honored Leigh Ann Frick, President of Care Navigation Consulting, as NASL’s Member of the Year. In presenting the award, John Damgaard noted that Leigh Ann has gone “above and beyond” in all of her work with NASL – serving on nearly every workgroup and reaching back out to staff with follow up from workgroup calls and guidance in preparing summaries of myriad clinical discussions.

NASL’s Medical Services Committee began with a policy update from NASL Manager of Legislative & Regulatory Affairs Michael Barnett. Michael reported on complex rehab technology (CRT) and CMS’ failure to exempt manual wheelchairs and components from the competitive bidding program, as well as TRICARE’s policy of non-coverage for services performed by physical and occupational therapy assistants. Next, Medical Services Committee Chair Martha Schram led a discussion on member experiences in using the new PT and OT evaluation codes. Following that, Leigh Ann Frick announced that she, Laura Dennis and the Committee had finished the “Medicare Myths” document and that electronic copies will be available on NASL's Members Only website. The Committee meeting wrapped up with a lively discussion among Committee members regarding the targeting of therapy by the OIG and DOJ with insights on the latest trends in therapy and nursing facility cases from Scott Wandstrat, who is a partner with Arnall Golden Gregory (AGG).

As is our custom, the NASL meeting adjourned for a few hours so members could explore the AHCA/NCAL Expo Hall. After the Expo Hall closed, we returned for an expert panel presentation on LTPAC’s Value in Bundled Care by Dr. David Muhlestein, Chief Research Officer with Leavitt Partners, and Michelle Templin, Vice President of Legislative Affairs & Business Development with Managed Health Care Associates (MHA). The focus of this session was to hear what accountable care organizations (ACOs) and others engaged in value-based arrangements look for and value in post-acute care partners such as nursing facilities and home health providers.

The day wrapped up with a robust NASL IT Committee meeting led by IT Committee Chair Robert Baker. After reviewing the IT Committee’s priorities for 2017 - 2018 – advancing health IT interoperability; increasing visibility of health IT in LTPAC; and engaging federal policymakers on health IT issues – the Committee talked about upcoming deadlines related to CMS’ Requirements of Participation (RoPs) for LTC Facilities and selected IMPACT Act measures. The bulk of the meeting centered on NASL’s work with the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) and influencing implementation of the 21st Century Cures Act – which requires ONC to more precisely define interoperability and what is – and what is not – information blocking. The Committee was especially interested in the recap of a recent ONC LTPAC Listening Session & Summit that featured active participation by NASL and several NASL member companies.

The final day of the conference kicked off with another fascinating panel that looked at “Quantifying the IMPACT of Clinical Interventions with the CARE Item Set.” This expert panel included Tracy Fritts, Vice President of Quality & Outcomes, Consonus Healthcare Services; Amy Hobbs, Director of Clinical Education, Accelerated Care Plus; and Ellen Strunk, Principal, Rehab Resources & Consulting. This session highlighted  one company-wide initiative to implement the CARE Item Set for all patients receiving services in the post-acute care setting and featured results from a recent study assessing the value of rehabilitation services, generally and of biophysical agent use, specifically. 

To close out the conference, NASL hosted a panel from “The Managed Care Payor’s Perspective.” Facilitated by Gary Jessee, who is the former Deputy Executive Commissioner for Medical & Social Services in Texas and now a consultant for Sellers Dorsey, the prestigious panel of managed care executives included Fran Kirley, President & CEO of Nexion Health; Anne Rote, President of Molina Healthcare of Texas; and Greg Thompson, Regional Vice President & COO for Texas Plan Amerigroup Corporation. The insights shared by this impressive group spoke directly to the value proposition that nursing facilities (and their therapy partners) can bring to managed care plans and what they as managed care execs value in their partnerships with nursing facilities and home health.

Gaining such high-quality, thoughtful observations from this incredible group of speakers seemed the perfect way to wrap up NASL’s 28th Annual Meeting. If you missed it and want to learn more, click here to let us know.