KHCA/KCAL Update 11/17/25

November 17, 2025

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The Latest News

We were honored to attend Nottingham Health & Rehabilitation’s Journey to the Baldridge Gold Celebration on Friday, November 14th, recognizing their homes exceptional leadership and performance. Special guests were former Kansas Governor and former AHCA/NCAL President Mark Parkinson, Kansas House of Representative Nikki McDonald, and Representative Sharice Davids. The event was inspiring and reaffirmed our commitment to continuous improvement and quality in all we do. Congratulations again to Nottingham Health & Rehabilitation staff and all you do!

Clinical Update from KHCA Consultant Linda Farrar

With the government shutdown over, at least temporarily, the issue of Medicare telehealth services is somewhat clarified. The legislation extends Medicare telehealth waivers through January 30, 2026. For the long-term care profession, this extension allows operators and residents the ability to continue telehealth visits for specialist consultations, behavioral health services, and routine check-ups as were previous allowed, and frequently used, especially in rural areas that lacked necessary services. These services were enacted retroactively to October 1, 2025 through January 30, 2026. The key provisions include: READ MORE

TOMORROW! Webinar: Compliance & Ethics Program Risk Assessment Essentials

11/18/25 - 1:30 PM - 2:30 PM

Click here for more details.

WEDNESDAY: Webinar: Turnover — Growing New Nurse Leaders

Wednesday, November 19, 2025

1:30 PM - 2:30 PM

This session focuses on equipping new nurse leaders with the skills and confidence needed to succeed in today’s long-term care environment. Participants will explore strategies to cultivate leadership capacity, strengthen communication, and create supportive structures that empower emerging leaders. The session will also highlight how effective nurse leadership contributes directly to staff retention and organizational stability. LEARN MORE

Members Only Nurse Advisory Committee (NAC) and Facility Standards Call - Friday, November 21, 2025 10:00AM - 11:00AM

Join us at 10:00 AM where Cynthia Pendleton, Facility Standards VP, and Linda Farrar, KHCA Clinical Consultant, will review recent SNF survey findings, followed by Nurse Advisory Committee President, Michelle Novotny, to discuss Nursing Scholarships, hot topics, and the latest happenings.

A calendar invite was sent on Monday morning. If you did not receive it and would like a copy, please email jsumner@khca.org.

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To foster an environment of candor and the open exchange of ideas, KHCA/KCAL prohibits the recording of meetings by attendees. This includes but is not limited to any use of artificial-intelligence tools or assistants that record and transcribe information. KHCA/KCAL has the right to immediately remove AI tools or assistants present on calls and placed by attendees.

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In Case You Missed It

Congress Ends Government Shutdown: What It Means for Long Term Care

As you may have seen, Congress struck a deal to reopen the federal government. Wednesday, the House passed the government spending package that was passed by the Senate earlier in the week. It now heads to the President’s desk, where he is sure to sign.

This was the longest government shutdown in American history. While we are aware of the challenges that some providers have experienced from a survey and regulatory standpoint, fortunately, our sector was less impacted than others thanks to our essential services and mandatory funding for Medicare and Medicaid. Here is a rundown of key provisions in the deal as well as what comes next with federal government operations resuming.

What’s in the Bill

Congress negotiated a deal that includes a continuing resolution (CR) extending current government funding through January 30, 2026. The agreement also includes:

a Senate vote in December on a health care bill of Democrats’ choosing—presumably a vote on the enhanced Affordable Care Act’s subsidies that are slated to expire at the end of the year and were the primary issue causing the shutdown;
three separate spending bills to cover programs related to agriculture, military construction and legislative agencies for most of 2026; and
reversing the federal workforce reductions in force (RIF) actions taken since October 1, as well as protections against future RIFs for the duration of the CR (through January 30th).

Of specific importance to the long term and post-acute care profession are:

Telehealth waivers: The waivers expired on September 30th when Congress was unable to reach a deal and the shutdown began. The compromise that passed this week reinstates the telehealth flexibilities retroactively from October 1 through January 30, 2026. Key waivers that were restored temporarily include:
Removal of the geographic limitations for medical telehealth services so they can again be furnished nationwide, including in a person's home such as an assisted living residence.
Restores physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech-language pathology providers as eligible to furnish telehealth services.
Restores a delay in Medicare in-person requirement for mental health services furnished through telehealth or audio-only telecommunications technology.
Restores the use of telehealth to conduct face-to-face encounters for Hospice recertification purposes.

Work Geographic Index Floor: Temporarily and retroactively restores nationwide the 1.0 payment floor multiplier for the work component of Medicare Part B services paid under the physician fee schedule. This is effective October 1, 2025 through January 30, 2026.
Extension of funding for quality measure endorsement, input, and selection.
Sequestration: This legislation prevents the triggering of statutory 4% PAYGO sequestration cuts to Medicare.

A Return to Normal

Federal agencies, including HHS, will resume full operations. While essential functions, such as Medicare and Medicaid payments and some HUD programs, have continued, delays in processes are expected as agencies return to working order.

With most government staff returning to their positions, agencies will begin processing the backlog of work created during the shutdown. This includes, but is not limited to, impacts on the following activities:

Survey activities including recognition of surveys conducted during the shutdown
Deferred survey components
Deficiency findings and enforcement actions
The resumption of normal corrective actions
Medicare certification for new facilities, including initial surveys
Immediate Jeopardy (IJ) special situations
Updates to the Five-Star Quality Rating System

Please keep in mind that responses to inquiries to CMS staff may be delayed as staff return to their positions.

Rule-making and other guidance development, which were delayed, will also now fully resume. We anticipate a lot of activity in the coming months, and we continue to engage with CMS on key policies.

What Comes Next

AHCA/NCAL will continue to monitor post-shutdown developments and once more information is available, we’ll provide updates.

We also look forward to advancing our Better Way agenda now with the federal government reopened. Specifically, we remain optimistic that we can make progress on bringing forth more rational regulations and improving Medicare Advantage for the sector.

Clifton J. Porter, II

President & CEO, AHCA/NCAL

Questions About Reimbursement, Regulatory Implications For Providers Remain Amid Federal Government Reopening

McKnight’s Long-Term Care News (11/13, Marselas) reports, "The reopening of the federal government has brought relief for skilled nursing providers, though key questions about reimbursement and regulatory implications still remain." AHCA/NCAL President and CEO Clif Porter said Thursday, "As Congress and the Administration get back to working order, we look forward to working with policymakers on advancing meaningful policies that will support high-quality care in America’s long-term care facilities." Among the changes, Congress included "an offset to PAYGO in its reopening bill," a cut New Hampshire Health Care Association President and CEO Brendan Williams warned about.

Gero Nurse Prep Sale Extended to December 31: Nurses Who Enroll Have One Year to Complete the Coursework

AHCA/NCAL’s Gero Nurse Prep course significantly increases nurses’ gerontological nursing knowledge and competency test scores. READ MORE

Utilize the Member's Only Scholarship for this course. LEARN MORE

Education Spotlight

Assisted Living Lunch and Learn: A Deeper Look at FCS, NSA, and HSP

December 1, 2025

9:30 AM - 2:00 PM

Overland Park, KS

Join us for an interactive Lunch and Learn with Joan Hudson, RN-BC, LNHA, focused on mastering the Functional Capacity Screen (FCS) and developing strong Negotiated Service Agreements (NSA) and Health Service Plans (HSP). Learn how to accurately complete the FCS, navigate gray areas, and confidently document your findings. Then, discover how to translate assessment results and resident preferences into thorough, compliant NSAs and HSPs. Perfect for Operators and Nurses working together to meet KDADS requirements in all State Licensed Only settings, including Home Plus.

Click here for more details.