Regulatory Solutions

Health care regulations are always changing, and ensuring that your organization both understands and complies with requirements is an ongoing task. From CHNA reports to long-term care regulations, the INCompliance team can help walk you through the details.

OVERVIEW

Keeping track of heath care regulations is a daunting task. However, INCompliance can help your organization plan and prepare for future demands for health care services. We offer practical options to identify your health service areas and address health needs in your community. Our areas of expertise include:

Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA)

  • Data collection
  • Community input
  • CHNA report and implementation strategy preparation
  • Alignment with community assessments and state health improvement plan

Health Care Planning

  • Regulatory matters
  • Long-term care service requirements
  • Assisted living service requirements
  • Acute health care service regulations

Long-Term Care and Assisted Living

  • Certificate of Need
  • Licensure
  • Bed and facility sales and acquisitions
  • Franchise permit fee
  • Space requirements and conversion of space
  • Assisted living waiver

Acute Care

  • Cardiac catheterization
  • Open heart surgery
  • Radiation therapy
  • Pediatric intensive care unit
  • Hospital registration

All of our services consider the timing of each component to ensure your goals are met according to internal and external deadlines.

CHNA

The 2010 Affordable Care Act requires that all 501(c)(3) hospitals conduct a community health needs assessment (CHNA) to maintain tax-exempt status. INCompliance provides the support you need to develop a CHNA report and implementation strategy that complies with this requirement. Specifically, we can help address the following frequently asked questions.

What is meant by “describing the community served by the hospital facility”?

The IRS rules allow some flexibility. In most cases, it should be defined geographically (zip codes, counties, MSAs, etc.), but in special circumstances (e.g., children’s hospitals, cancer hospitals, specialty units) may also be described by patient populations. Should include not only those the hospital would like to serve, but those available to serve (including through emergency department). Often, this will be the hospital’s service area which is generally a geographic area comprising 75 percent of the admissions.

What kinds of data are required?

Data for the CHNA should include federal, state and local sources and identify the following:

  • Current and projected service area population and demographic information
  • Existing hospital services
  • Other health care providers and resources in the service area
  • Health Professional Shortage Areas within the service area
  • Health conditions of the area population
Where do we go for data?

Data can be obtained from a variety of sources, including the following:

  • State Health Department
  • Community Health Rankings and Roadmaps
  • Community Commons
  • HRSA Data Warehouse
  • Kids Count Data Center
How should organizational or individual resources for “community input” be identified?

The following organizations or groups may be considered for community input:

  • Associations – Ohio Hospital Association, Children’s Hospital Association, regional hospital associations
  • Consumers and individuals residing in the community
  • Local business owners
  • Physicians – both those on the medical staff and perhaps those who are not
  • Local Departments and organizations – Job and Family Services, ADMHS Board, FQHCs, County Health Department, Aging, school districts, United Way
How can community input be assessed or used?

One way to gather, assess and use community input is to form a group of interested stakeholders from both within and outside of the hospital (could be called an “Advisory Council”) to assist with considering the data and input and identifying and prioritizing needs.

What should be considered in prioritizing needs and identifying which needs are not going to be addressed by the hospital?

The hospital should review each significant need and consider the following:

  • The burden, scope, severity or urgency of the need
  • Estimated feasibility and effectiveness of possible interventions
  • Health disparities associated with the need
  • The importance the community places on the need
  • Whether the need can be addressed alone or does it require partnering with another organization
  • Whether the hospital has the capabilities and resources (e.g., skills, funding, knowledge) to address the need
  • Services the hospital has that can help address the need
  • Whether the hospital can change current business practices to help address the need
What should be included in the implementation strategy?

For each significant need addressed in a CHNA, the implementation strategy should include the following:

  • Action steps
  • Anticipated impact
  • Programs and resources to commit to addressing the need
  • Planned collaborations
We have done community benefit reports and community needs assessments in the past – can we just update these?

While those may be a resource considered as a part of the CHNA, it is extremely unlikely that those activities followed the steps and included the level of external input required for CHNAs.

What happens if a need is identified and not addressed?

All significant needs are not required to be addressed. The implementation strategy must address each significant health need, indicating whether the need is one the hospital will address or not. If the need is not being addressed by the hospital, indicate the reason (e.g., limited resources, lacking expertise, etc.).

LONG-TERM CARE/ASSISTED LIVING

With changes in reimbursement and more stringent regulations, providing long-term care and assisted living services is more challenging than ever. Our consultants can help you meet those challenges. We provide expert assistance to long-term care and assisted living providers in many areas including those described below.

Space Requirements and Conversion of Space

We assist in the conversion of space for nursing home and assisted living use. We can advise on space requirements, timing of notifications and notice requirements, and survey process.

Assisted Living Licensure and Waiver

We assist you in meeting licensure requirements and waiver regulations for participation in an assisted living waiver program. We can help with conversion of space and prepare notification filings to initiate licensure, certification under a waiver program and, if necessary, survey processes.

Certificate of Need

Our Certificate of Need expert was director of Ohio’s Certificate of Need program before joining our team. She will prepare and submit your Certificate of Need application and support you throughout the process, including support for administrative hearings.

Nursing Home Licensure, Certification and Survey Process

We assist you in meeting licensure and certification requirements throughout the planning and implementation of bed sales and acquisitions, ensuring that the beds remain “valid” throughout the process. Serving as your liaison with Ohio Department of Health (ODH), we will prepare notification filings to initiate licensure, certification and survey processes.

Bed/Home Sales and Acquisitions

Do you need additional long-term care beds? Are you struggling with low occupancy rates? We bring providers together to relocate beds to areas where they can be better utilized to enhance operations. We assist you by negotiating terms for bed transaction agreements and ensuring your interests are met throughout the process. Specifically, we provide:

  • Preparation of Certificate of Need application
  • A plan review to address licensure requirements
  • Consultation on staffing requirements
  • Preparation of variance requests
  • Preparation of requests for a change in licensed capacity
  • Interaction with the ODH throughout the licensure process
  • Nursing Home Certification
  • Franchise Permit Fee (Bed Tax) information
  • Identify market value for bed operating rights
Franchise Permit Fee

Our nursing home consultant will ensure that your interests are met during negotiations for allocation of the franchise permit fee associated with bed sales and acquisitions. We also advise on the optimal time for de-licensure of beds being relocated and the licensure of beds at the receiving facility to minimize your franchise permit fee liability.

ACUTE CARE

State regulations for acute care services can change without providers having any knowledge of, or input on, the change. We can monitor regulations, advise you on proposed changes and provide public comment where appropriate. We can help ensure that your interests are addressed and that your service is in compliance. In addition, we can prepare your request for a waiver or variance and work with the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) to address specific concerns, such as:

Health Care Services/Quality Rules

Our director of regulatory services has worked with experts to develop rules for the Health Care Services (HCS) program, covering cardiac catheterization, open heart surgery, radiation therapy and pediatric intensive care unit services.

She developed and implemented the HCS program for the ODH and was the program’s administrator from its inception in 1997 through 2009. We can assist with the following:

  • Initiating a new health care service
  • Discontinuing an existing health care service
  • Interpreting regulations and evaluating compliance
  • Changing the scope of service or service level designation
  • Preparing waiver and variance request for requirements not met or met in an alternative manner
  • Conducting service review to evaluate compliance
Hospital Registration

Our director of regulatory services has 28 years of involvement with hospital registration as a program administrator with the ODH. Additionally, our director has provided consultation to the ODH regarding registration policy and rules and can help ensure that your registration is accurate. If you are having registration issues, we can work with the ODH to resolve problems and correct mistakes.

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