Monthly tips, tools, information & special offers
November 2021 | Issue 10
Solutions Spotlight
Tips for Controlling Workers Comp Costs

Workers Compensation is the most controllable insurance coverage an organization has. When you are proactive with your risk management program, your claims, experience modification, and ultimately, your premiums will reflect that. Cool Insuring – A Gallagher Company has professionals that can assist with all of the above strategies and have been successful in recovering significant overpaid premiums.
The Core Reporter

Data analytics is among the fastest growing business intelligence applications across all
industries, and healthcare is no exception SNF stakeholders now have access to an array of diverse
resources to inform decision making There is only one problem reporting from distinct sources on
the same metrics are often inconsistent sometimes significantly so.
On-Site Therapy Services: What's in it for you?

Are you maximizing what you receive from your on-site therapy partner? Uncover 5 insights to get the most out of a meaningful partnership with a trusted therapy company.
7 Ways to Bring Your Dining Experience into the Future

Today’s seniors are demanding better dining experiences and their expectations continue to evolve. That means senior living communities must adapt and evolve as well, while offering amenities that maximize resident satisfaction. It’s essential that communities seek new and creative ways to better meet the demands of the future, including integrating healthier meals, becoming more sustainable, and embracing technology to enhance the overall experience. Important tips from Sodexo Seniors on how to bring your dining experience into the future.
HHS Provider Relief Fund Portal Opens

The highly-anticipated and often delayed HHS Provider Relief Fund Reporting Portal officially opened on July 1, 2021 here. Along with the portal itself, a user guide, an excel template workbook, and several new FAQs were also issued. These are in addition to updated reporting guidance that was released on June 11, 2021 here. These new resources clarified and resolved several important issues.
Special Savings from Value First!

Germ free is the way to be - save on COVID related costs!
Managed SOC Shines a Light on Threat Activity

In 2021, it took organizations an average of 212 days after they’d been attacked to detect and identify a data breach. That’s 212 days of bad actors accessing your systems uncontested and amplifying their impact.
You need visibility into what’s happening on your systems to catch attackers early on. Not only that, you need to monitor as much activity as possible for as much time as possible. Cyber threats don’t keep 9-5 ET hours, nor do they limit themselves to one or two networks, so neither should your threat detection.
GreyCastle Security saw many clients struggle with this visibility gap, so we developed the Managed Security Operations Center (Managed SOC) solution to meet this need, and it ended up solving several problems at once. Join Vice President of Solutions & Product Management Dan Didier and Director of Cybersecurity Operations Joe Vigorito on August 24 for a discussion on how Managed SOC gives you comprehensive monitoring capabilities that defend against today’s ever-evolving threat landscape.

Safe Patient Solutions for Bariatric Patients

The prevalence of nursing home resident obesity has more than doubled in the past 20 years, contributing significantly to the staff injuries. From 2000 through 2018, U.S. obesity increased from 30.5% to 42.4% with severe obesity increasing from 4.7% to 9.2%. The cost of back injuries in the American health care industry exceeds $7 billion dollars annually. This figure represents an estimated 5%−15% of the total cost of back injuries across all occupations.
Benefits Purchasing Committee Guide

As healthcare costs continue to rise, uncovering new savings and optimizing health benefits plans are on the top of most employers’ 2022 to-do lists. For recruitment, retention and satisfaction purposes, it is extremely important that the product you choose is a good fit for your entire workforce, and a committee-based approach to purchasing can be part of this solution.    

This step-by-step guide to creating a diverse health benefits purchasing committee provides a clear roadmap for employers looking to ignite a collaborative and innovative discussion centered around recruiting and retaining talent. 

In this guide, you’ll learn how to:
· Recruit an involved and inclusive health insurance purchasing committee;
· Establish rules that encourage thoughtful committee discussion; 
· Design an actionable agenda;
· Uncover areas of significant premium savings.

If you’re ready to learn more about committee best practices, access our free step-by-step guide here to get started.
HJ Sims Financing Catalysts for Future Growth

Senior living organizations may take several approaches to achieving financial success for their communities. However, there are certain strategies that can save time and money, and ultimately execute an effective, long-term and innovative financing solution for any capital needs. These strategies are focused on not only expanding capital and debt capacity, but also driving a lower cost of capital, all to support accelerated and smart growth.
Building Equity Into Your Employee Health Plan Design

As health insurance costs continue to rise, it’s more important than ever to evaluate your benefits. Emphasizing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in health plan design today can ensure your employees can access affordable care — it can improve recruitment, retention, and your bottom line as well.

Nonstop Administration and Insurance Services Inc., is excited to share this nine-point checklist for nonprofits, “Building Equity Into Your Employee Health Plan Design,” you will discover how to:

  • adapt benefits based on a cross-section of employees across the organization
  • enable staff earning lower wages to get better access to affordable care
  • align health plan design with DEI initiatives, recruitment, and the bottom line
Using the Supremacy Clause to Overturn Medicaid Denials - A Novel and Successful Approach

When appealing an adverse Medicaid determination, attorneys will often cite the due process rights enshrined in our Constitution in arguing that appellants’ rights were violated during the Medicaid application process. A less commonly utilized argument, however, and one that has resulted in a number of recent successful Fair Hearing decisions in cases argued by Cona Elder Law, lies in invoking the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution based on the supremacy of federal law over conflicting state laws and regulations.
A Proactive, Resident-Centric Approach to Infection Control 

Senior living communities are increasingly grappling with occupancy challenges driven by health and safety concerns of older adults and their families.
More rigorous CMS infection control standards and staffing issues caused by employee health fears are putting pressure on budgets and overextended team members.
Sodexo’s ReAssure Program keeps senior communities safer by maintaining regulatory compliance and providing valuable safety reassurance to residents, families, and staff.
Insurance Marketplace Continues to Harden
For 2021, the insurance market continues to harden with significantly higher pricing. After approximately 20 years of a soft, buyer-friendly insurance market, the past few years have seen a firming or hardening market—one that is less friendly to insurance buyers.

While the effects of this hardening insurance market on long term care will depend on a variety of factors, most facilities will see premium increases for their insurance coverage overall. In fact, most facilities may see double-digit rate increases at their renewal.