MHA Today | April 24, 2024

Staff Contact: Brian Kinkade or Sarah Willson

MO HealthNet Division proposed a rule for the coverage and reimbursement of community doula services under Missouri’s Medicaid program. The rule is published in the May 1 Missouri Register, page 638. The public comment period closes Thursday, May 30.

Staff Contact: Brian Kinkade

CMS is set to publish its final rules on Medicaid access and quality for fee-for-service and managed care programs Friday, May 10. Although the rules include many provisions that will enable coverage and ensure participants have fair access to the benefits to which they are entitled, the managed care rule will require Medicaid enrolled providers to periodically attest whether they are participating in Medicaid provider tax “hold harmless arrangements.” MHA and many other provider groups opposed the imposition of this provision, arguing CMS lacks the statutory authority to do so. The final rule defers the implementation of the attestation requirement until January 2028, which will allow time for the legality of the requirement to be reviewed.

Staff Contact: Andrew Wheeler

CMS released a final rule that contains minimum staffing requirements at long-term care facilities. The rule mandates that long-term care facilities provide a minimum of 3.48 hours per resident day in nursing staff time, including a minimum 0.55 HPRD of R.N. care and 2.45 HPRD of direct nurse aide care. The rule requires an R.N. on-site 24-7 for skilled nursing care. The rule will be implemented in three phases. MHA released an issue brief with additional details.

Staff Contact: Jane Drummond

The Federal Trade Commission finalized a rule that would ban noncompete agreements for nearly all occupations in the U.S. Once the rule is effective, employers will be required to notify employees currently subject to a noncompete agreement that the contract is no longer enforceable. The only contracts permitted to stay in effect are those with senior executives, defined as individuals in a policy-making position making more than $151,164 annually. Employers are prohibited from imposing new noncompete contracts with senior executives after the effective date of the rule.

The FTC’s jurisdiction extends to for-profit entities, and numerous commenters to the proposed rule asserted it could not regulate nonprofit or governmental entities. However, the FTC claims in the final rule that such organizations are not “categorically outside the Commission’s authority.” Due to the far-reaching implications of the rule, litigation to stop its implementation is likely. The rule has not yet been published in the Federal Register, but will take effect 120 days from the publication date.

Staff Contact: Mary Conley

The Missouri Perinatal Quality Collaborative officially launched its website, MoPQC.org, and associated social media channels on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, this week. MHA has partnered with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services to host the MO PQC. All hospitals — whether they offer birthing services or not — can benefit from the knowledge and networks the site offers. Please share the links, follow the MO PQC social channels and sign up for the PQC’s newsletter to access tools to help improve maternal health in Missouri.