As we all know, Medicare is cutting back and there are continued issues with Medicare-Advantage and other insurance plans. This means home health agencies need to do everything possible to get the maximum allowable from Prospective Payment System (PPS) episodes. However, when I review the financial practices of many of the home health agencies I consult with, I invariably find my clients are leaving good money on the table because of inadequate assessments and coding errors. These mistakes or inadvertent omissions score patients for less than they should be scored. Undercoding takes away valuable resources yet is a relatively easy issue to fix.
In my own work, helping clients realign for financial and organizational growth invariably involves some degree of education and training. Making certain your entire staff is well versed in proper assessment and coding practices is an extremely effective way to ensure cash flows. Using a professionally designed dashboard will further help to align reimbursements. Continue reading “Home Health: Don’t Leave Good Money On The Table (Making the most out of PPS episodes)” »
Congratulations! You’ve worked hard to develop a sound business concept that will allow you to open up a successful Private Pay agency. You’ve researched it, you’ve stayed up late at night outlining the perfect business concept, and now you’re ready to rock ‘n roll. But, stop! Before you take another step towards realizing your dream, you have to develop a budget. (I heard that groan!)
Your budget needs to include everything: all your start-up expenditures, e.g., logo development, web page design, business cards, etc., as well as the time it takes for you to develop and start your agency. If you are doing this work, figure out a fair salary and pay yourself. If you are hiring an outside person or resource to help you, factor in that fee as well. Identify key caregiving and office staff, and identify what you will realistically have to pay them to compete. Add that figure to your budget. Continue reading “Budget Development: Private Pay and the Cost of Doing Business” »
It’s a big day. You’ve pulled everything you need into place to start up the Private Pay agency of your dreams. You’ve completed your community assessment and know for sure the neighborhood you selected is a dream location. You’ve scoped out local colleges to make sure there will be an abundance of newly trained and eager employees looking to work for you. Now it’s time to recruit them.
The first step to successful recruitment is to set your sights high. Don’t be tempted to lower your standards if you don’t find what you are looking for right away. Remember, the average hire ratio is one out of every ten people you interview, or 10%. It will take time to find the right employees. Be patient and factor that time into your overall planning framework. Continue reading “Success and Private Pay: It’s All About Recruitment” »
Starting a new Private Pay Agency from scratch can be exhilarating and exhausting. It is the moment when all your dreams come true or your worst nightmares come to fruition. Taking a few basic steps before you start the journey can have a very positive impact on the outcome.
Step 1. Know Your Community
We all know the best product in the world will not sell if the need does not exist. Get to know your audience by completing a community assessment. This will let you know if there is a buying public in your area and give an accurate read on the demographics and resources available. Zipskinny.com can help you identify household incomes as well as social and economic indicators. From there, you can make an informed decision about what area of the community will be most responsive to your new business concept. Continue reading “Starting Up: Launching a Private Pay Agency on the Road to Success” »
I often talk to Private Pay agency owners and managers who are so focused on the hiring process they forget that once they’ve hired new employees, they have to work to keep them. There are a number of things you can do to build your retention rates.
First of all, create a formalized Retention Plan. In this Plan, outline the full range of pay for services as well as any bonus plans or incentives you offer that support loyalty. Above and beyond a codified Plan, there is the obvious: treat your employees well and they will return the favor. The average turnover rate for a homecare Private Pay agency is between 25% and 80%. Turnovers can be costly, especially if you hire, orient, and train new employees only to lose them. Continue reading “Staff Retention: How To Avoid the Private Pay Agency Turnover Blues” »
