Providers have continued to sign up for next week's McKnight's Online Expo in record numbers. The fourth annual educational event takes place Wednesday and Thursday and can be registered for at any time until then at www.mcknights.com/marchexpo. There is no cost to take part or to earn continuing education units (CEUs).

Federal regulators will conduct the first of a handful of "train the trainer" sessions for the new MDS 3.0 nursing home assessment tool Monday through Friday in Baltimore. The highly anticipated sessions are aimed at state Medicaid directors, survey directors and other invited individuals, according to federal officials who will conduct the training.

Hundreds of long-term care operators will converge in San Diego next week to participate in the first ever National Skilled Nursing Investment Forum from Monday through Wednesday. Others also will be attending the accompanying annual NIC Regional Symposium, which runs from Wednesday through Friday, also at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel.

Once a year, we need you to validate your request to receive the print version of McKnight's Long-Term Care News for free ... It's that time! ...

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) will officially release its annual report on payment recommendations for nursing home operators and other providers on Monday. An early afternoon media briefing is expected to set off a flurry of commentary on the advice MedPAC will be offering Congress. MedPAC Executive Director Mark Miller will release his group's report.

The American Association of Homes & Services for the Aging (AAHSA) will hold its annual spring meeting and congressional fly-in Monday through Wednesday in Washington. Nonprofit facility owners and operators from around the country will lobby members of Congress in person and also take part in an exposition, a variety of educational sessions and a leadership summit.

Long-term care providers and their legal representatives will tackle some of their toughest issues Wednesday through Friday at the national "Long Term Care and the Law" seminar in Miami. Legal implications of emerging trends, healthcare reform, the False Claims Act, documentation problems, labor law and the Five-Star Nursing Home Quality Rating System are just some of the topics that will be examined. The American Health Lawyers Association hosts the program, which will be held at ...

The future of Medicare Part B therapy caps will be a hot topic next week when the National Association for the Support of Long Term Care (NASL) holds its winter meeting at the Ritz Carlton in suburban Washington. Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-PA) is the keynote speaker at the opening session Thursday morning. Current and former federal regulators, as well as representatives of the two biggest nursing home associations, will be among those presenting sessions during the two-day meeting.

The long-term care community, along with many others, is anxiously looking forward to President Obama's first budget proposal. Obama is set to announce his spending plan on Monday.

The next milepost for sweeping changes in the Minimum Data Set should come next week, when Chapters 2 and 4 and an appendix of the Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI) manual are published. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will alert providers with an advance notice, said the agency's Tom Dudley at Thursday's SNF Open Door Forum conference call.