INDUSTRY EXPERTS

Post-COVID Headwinds: An Overview of Senior Living and Long-Term Care Challenges

Long-term care issues reviewed by industry experts considered the impact of the White House Nursing Home Initiative, trends in insurance claims and litigation, and CMS initiatives in the DRI Long-Term Care and Senior Living session titled “Post-COVID Headwinds: An Overview of Senior Living and Long-Term Care Challenges”.

Tara Clayton of Marsh, Christopher Puri of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings, and Reina Reddish of the Tennessee Health Care Association provided insightful overviews on the impact the pandemic has had on long-term care providers and ways to prepare for the resulting governmental changes and legal challenges.

Excelas’ Comprehensive Integrated Timeline Tool (CITT) contains an archive of over 10,000 documents of Federal and State Guidance (for select states). It was developed as part of Excelas’ extensive experience assisting clients in managing claims and litigation related to COVID.

This data is used to demonstrate the practices and the standards at the time an event occurred.  With the expected changes in survey criteria as a result of the administration’s Nursing Home Initiative, a database containing these guidelines in a quickly accessible format is an excellent tool in assisting in the defense of COVID-related claims and litigation.

STAFFING

Texas’ nursing homes are missing something: nurses

Texas does not have enough nurses for its senior care facilities.Nursing homes have been hit particularly hard by this crisis. The shortage of nurses is impacting availability of beds, particularly in rural areas.  Texas has seen an 18% decrease in registered nurses in nursing facilities since 2019.

In the backdrop of the staffing crisis is another troubling trend in Texas: Nursing homes are closing. A report from Texas Health and Human Services shows that from 2018-22, at least 60 nursing facilities in the state — 2% — have lost the battle to inflation, low Medicaid reimbursement rates and other financial burdens.

MANDATES

New York City COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates Dealt a Fatal Blow

The Supreme Court of the state of New York, Richmond County, upheld a challenge to New York City’s vaccine mandate for public-sector employees, ordered the immediate reinstatement of and back pay to former New York City Department of Sanitation employees who had challenged the mandate, and declared the vaccine mandate for private-sector employees to be arbitrary and capricious.

METRICS

COVID development through October 31, 2022

With COVID cases being remanded to to State Court, Excelas, LLC continues to invest in the development of COVID timelines for healthcare organizations.

5,326    Total Hours of COVID Timeline Development

3,275    Hours of Federal COVID-19 Timeline Development
1,239    Hours of State COVID-19 Timeline Development
812    Hours of Corporate/Facility COVID-19 Timeline Development
11    # of States Completed (IL, KS, PA, GA, AZ, NY, NJ, FL, IN, NV, DE)
18    # of Corporate/Facility Response Timelines Completed
–     # Corporate/Facility Response Timelines In Process
1   # of States In Process (SC)

UPDATED SINCE LAST NEWSLETTER

Excelas’ PREP Act Updates list summaries of relevant articles and selected court decisions, as well as additional recent court decisions, with hyperlinks for reference. We are continually updating cases as information becomes available. If you have insights to share, we welcome your contribution, with credit. The attached update is the most recent, including listings through October 2022.