KHCA/KCAL Update 12/10/25

December 10, 2025

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The Latest News

Reminder: All KHCA/KCAL newsletter updates are archived for your convenience!

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CMS to suspend nursing home revalidation process indefinitely

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is again postponing skilled nursing facilities’ mandatory off-cycle revalidation deadline — this time indefinitely, according to sources. This is the fourth postponement of a deadline for nursing home owners to provide newly expanded, complicated ownership and business relationship information. READ MORE

Providers Must Be Aware Of ICD-10-CM Updates

American Association of Post-Acute Care Nursing curriculum development specialist Jennifer LaBay, RN, RAC-MT, RAC-MTA, QCP, CRC, wrote in Provider Magazine (12/1, 151K) that "providers, coders, and payers must be aware of" the "essential" updates to the "ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting" because "they support high-quality patient care while ensuring precise documentation and reimbursement." The article "highlights the fiscal year (FY) 2026 changes most likely to impact the long term care setting that relate to conventions, general and chapter-specific coding guidelines, and the revised type 2 diabetes mellitus and multiple sclerosis codes."

CMS Releases New Minimum Data Set 3.0 Quality Measures User’s Manual Version v18.0

Park Place Live (12/5, Connole) reported CMS "has released the new Minimum Data Set (MDS) 3.0 Quality Measures (QM) User’s Manual Version v18.0," effective from Jan. 1, 2026, "which contains elements that skilled nursing providers need to be aware of." Explaining the update, "Alicia Cantinieri, managing director, clinical reimbursement & regulatory compliance, Zimmet Health care Services Group, answered some key questions." In order "to ready for the changes," AHCA "said providers can monitor their Five-Star Preview reports when available on iQIES."

The AI and Clinical Practice

The AI & Clinical Practice education program is now available on ahcancalED. The AI and Clinical Practice education program was developed by the AHCA Clinical Practice Committee to help long term care providers understand the current use and implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) in the clinical setting along with the risk and benefits to this advanced technology. READ MORE

Registration is free to KHCA/KCAL members.

KMAP Web Update

The KMAP website has been updated with the following:

General Bulletin 25275 regarding KMMS Maintenance Downtime – December 12-15, 2025
General Bulletin 25280 regarding New Provider Specialty for Provider
Type 32

Manual Updates

In keeping with current policies and procedures, the following manuals have been updated on the Provider Manuals page of the KMAP website:

Pharmacy Fee-for-Service Provider Manual (related to General Bulletin 25280)
Professional Fee-for-Service Provider Manual (related to General Bulletin 25280)

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

In Case You Missed It

Clinical Update from KHCA Consultant Linda Farrar

The Influenza 2025-Season is well underway. This week, Dr. David Gifford, the AHCA Network Medical Director, posted the following message in the LTC National Infection Prevention Forum:

“All the recent data points to a bad flu season this year. The dominant strain is more infectious than past years. This year's dominant strain has a reproduction number (R0) of around 1.4, meaning each infected person spreads it to an average of 1.4 others. This is significantly higher than the typical seasonal flu R0 of around 1.2, suggesting faster and more widespread transmission, which matches what is being seen. The rate of hospitalizations due to flu for those over 65 is taking off (see CDC flu net hospitalizations tracker) In addition the vaccine match is not at preventing infections as in past years but luckily it remains ok in shortening the duration of symptoms and lowering the risk of hospitalizations. READ MORE

A Message from KDHE: Infectious Disease Preparedness 2026 ECHO: Game Plan for Health! Readiness for Tournament Games in Kansas City

Is your team ready for global soccer matches to kick off in Kansas City in 2026? Join this

Infectious Disease Preparedness 2026 ECHO series to equip your team with the tools to

address domestic and international travel-associated disease risks. Symptoms, screening,

testing and management of travel-associated infectious diseases will be discussed along with

practical strategies for preventing and controlling infection spread. READ MORE

What Do You Want to See from Provider Magazine?

Thank you for relying on Provider to deliver crucial information and insights about the long term care profession. To ensure we keep meeting your needs, the Provider team needs your input.

Help shape Provider in 2026 by taking this quick and easy survey before Dec 19. Responses are confidential (unless you choose to share your contact information).

Take the Provider survey now!

Shingles vaccine associated with significant drop in dementia deaths

People with dementia who were vaccinated against herpes zoster, or shingles, experienced fewer deaths than those who were unvaccinated, according to findings presented at the Clinical Trials on Alzheimer's Disease (CTAD) annual meeting and published in the December issue of Cell. READ MORE

Education Spotlight

Aging Services Day

Mark your calendar for Aging Services day, January 21, 2026.

Aging Services Day is a collaborative event put together by Kansas Health Care Association/Kansas Center for Assisted Living, LeadingAge Kansas and Kansas Adult Care Executives where Long Term Care Providers gather at the State Capitol to champion the needs of our elderly in Kansas. We will meet in the morning for education at The Beacon then go to the Capitol for a full afternoon of legislative advocacy on issues that are crucial to the LTC Profession with our Kansas Legislators. It’s a powerful opportunity to allow your voice to be heard and influence positive change for LTC providers and the population we care for. Be part of the movement for better aging services. READ MORE

This event is sponsored by: