What’s happening: DMAS is finalizing the annual wage survey that will be the primary driver of the inflation calculation for rates effective on July 1, 2024.

• It is critical that organizations accurately report this information and double check the data to ensure it is a correct depiction of the staffing costs/hours for each of your buildings.

Why it matters: The collected information is vital to an accurate calculation of the annual Medicaid inflation factor.

• Participation in the survey is mandatory for all non-hospital based nursing facilities participating in Medicaid and/or Medicaid managed care programs.

New this year: DMAS has indicated that the survey’s instructions will ask facilities to provide information Medicaid day counts by requesting the total number of Virginia Medicaid Days for the cost report year ending in 2021 (the base year of the rebasing).

• During the last rebasing, a supplemental survey for this same information was necessary due to poor Medicaid day information from the managed care organizations.
• DMAS does not anticipate the same issue this time, but collecting this information in the survey will allow the agency to validate the source data they get from the MCOs.
• An accurate Medicaid day count is a vital component of calculating the correct per diem cost in the rebasing.  As with the other Wage Survey data, please verify that you are accurately reporting this important information.

What to look for: Contacts for the wage survey should receive an email from DMAS in the coming days providing the instructions and directing you to the survey.

• If you are not that contact, please advise your colleague on the importance of the survey and the additional question about Medicaid days.
• Responses will be due in mid-February; the specific date is to be announced.

We will share additional details about the survey deadline once we have more information.

• Members may contact Steve Ford with any questions.