Tag: CMS

Two useful options for saving money on your employees healthcare costs

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In today’s business world employers all across the county are struggling with the decisions of how to operate as lean as possible without taking away anything from their employees. With regards to an employers retirees there are some options that organizations can use to help offset some of the costs. Two important and helpful programs that an employer should look into that help save money on healthcare costs are theRetiree Drug Subsidy Program (RDS) and the Early Retiree Reimbursement Program (ERRP)

In 2005 The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) introduced the Retiree Drug Subsidy (RDS) program. What the program does is reimburse municipalities, unions and private employers for a portion of their eligible expenses for retiree prescription drug benefits. Over the years employers have slowly but steadily cut back on their prescription drug coverage for retirees. CMS introduced this program with the goal of encouraging employers to continue providing high-quality prescription drug coverage to their retirees. The nice part about this program is that it is very straightforward and there is usually little to no benefit design changes to current coverage.

Another more recent, yet temporary program that is offered to employers to help with healthcare costs is the Early Retiree Reimbursement Program. The Program was established by the Affordable Care Act, which was a part of the Healthcare Reform Bill passed in early 2010. The program provides $5 billion in financial assistance to employers to help them maintain coverage for early retirees age 55 and older who are not yet eligible for Medicare. The program will reimburse employers 80 percent of all medical costs per retiree, which includes their spouses and dependents. The cost must however be between the $15,000-$90,000 worth of expenses. Employers can use the savings to either reduce their own health care costs, provide premium relief to their workers and families or a combination of both.

Figuring out how to operate efficiently and effectively without cutting into employee benefits is a real challenge. It is becoming even more important in this economy to continue to search out and explore any available option for your organization that keeps it competitive and keeps your employees happy. There are options out there that are meant to help employers save money, for answers to questions about these programs visit rdsservices.us.

Diversify Home Health, Home Care And Hospice Services To Secure Your Agencys Financial Future

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Have you ever heard the advice to not put all your eggs in one basket? Well the advice is good, especially if you are a Home Health, Home Care or Hospice agency. Putting all your eggs in one basket in the Home Health, Home Care or Hospice industry means having only one line of business. In todays environment, one line of business is a dangerous path to walk. Already we have seen repeated cuts to the Home Health reimbursement formula, and Hospice is under scrutiny and will probably see some rather dramatic cuts in the future. Some Home Care (Private Pay) agencies are seeing a decline in both clients and hours, as well. Just as the chant location, location, location is cited for a business success, diversification is the same for agencies in the Home Health, Home Care and Hospice industry.

As a Home Health or Hospice agency, you may be asking how you can diversify. You already take private insurance, much of which doesnt even cover your expenses. Where can you diversify?

Years ago, many Home Health agencies invested in private duty services. Unfortunately, many of them tried to run these agencies the same way they ran the Medicare-Certified agencies. This turned out to be a less than a financial success for them and, as a result, most of the agencies closed their Private Pay agencies or sold them. I was one of those administrators running both types of agencies. Fortunately, the corporation that owned the agency I managed understood the differences required to successfully operate these two very distinct businesses. As a result, the internal structures and systems for Private Pay were run with entirely different staff and procedures. Fortunately, the Private Pay agency was a financial success and a great partner for the Medicare business.

In todays environment, it may be wise for Medicare agencies to look again at the Private Pay industry and invest in another line of business that will not be subject to the changes of CMS. This holds true for both Medicare Home Health and the Hospice agencies. The opportunities in a Private Pay agency are endless. The services offered are as open and vast as the community served will support. By using the lessons learned from the previous attempts to diversify into Private Pay, the new line of business makes the difference between surviving and thriving.

For Private Pay (Home Care) agencies, diversification is just as important. By having only one or two lines of business, you will very likely have some down times with loss of revenues. Diversification of services helps to diminish the effects of the decline on your personal care or live-in services. There are so many opportunities in the Private Pay arena, it really is a matter of finding out what your marketplace will support and then developing it in such a manner that your customers will see value and buy.

Over the years I have seen some very creative and innovative Private Pay agency owners create truly unique services that were well received by their communities. One agency had a very viable service line in cruise companions. They had a high end senior population that were used to cruises, but because of declines in health and abilities, many of the seniors could no longer travel. The agency developed a contract with a major cruise line where they provided the personal care workers or aides that accompanied the senior on the cruise. The client paid for all the related cruise expenses as well as the daily live-in rate for the aide. Reportedly a great time was had by all.

Another agency developed a Mom and Babe program that catered to the large number of young, educated families in their geographic area. The program retained the services of an OB-GYN RN, who made the first visit to the home the day after the mother was discharged from the hospital. The aide, who was a trained doula, also accompanied the RN on the first visit. The services were bundled into either 5- or 7-day, 12 hour/day packages that included the RN visit and the 5 or 7 days of the specialty aide. The aide not only cared for the mother and baby, but tended to the home and other children, allowing the new mother and baby to have bonding time. The aide planned and cooked the meals and did the laundry and light housekeeping so that the mother could rest. The program, as mentioned, was sold as a package and made great shower gifts. The aide was available on an hourly rate to continue services beyond the package if the family wished, or her services could be bought by the family directly for however long they were needed.

As you can see, there is no limit to what your agency can provide. With appropriate due diligence and an ability to listen to what your community is seeking and willing to pay for, you can do anything. If youre ready to plan a more secure financial future for your agency, contact us today to discuss the many diverse opportunities that are awaiting you.

Emr – Shaping The Future Of Healthcare

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We all are aware of how the CMS multimillion dollar plan for EMR adoption created waves in the Healthcare IT industry. EMR was a proven tool to optimize practice operations and workflows. Large hospital corporations and technology enthusiasts were already reaping its benefits long before the government’s incentive program. Within the last two and a half years, EMR has managed to change the face of the Healthcare industry in the US. The adoption rates are now higher than ever. With the introduction of affordable, web-based EMR solutions, smaller practices can now look to automate their clinical and administrative processes as well.

While a practice may benefit from cost savings and improved productivity, the real benefactors are the patients themselves. An EMR offers increased quality of care through built-in interaction checks, improved accountability and ease of access, thus the future of healthcare backed by EMRs looks very promising indeed.
With increased focus on EDI and security, it is easier to anticipate what may come next. Healthcare portals are slowly gaining popularity amongst patients. With access to electronic personal health record, a patient is remains informed. The CMS wants to establish a new, more efficient method for care delivery by promoting online healthcare information exchange. This is also keenly reflected within the meaningful use objectives for stage 1 and the proposed stage 2.

Utilizing the technology available today, physician-patient interaction can be transformed completely. Integrated EMR Portals remove care delivery barriers and keep patients synchronized with real-time data to manage their health better. These may include online follow ups along with clinical alerts and reminders through instant messaging (email and text). With patients already using a patient portal to book their appointments, access lab results, request prescription refills and review visit notes, the next step may be a completely virtual clinical checkup.

With the development in online healthcare information exchange, patients can manage their health better and transport vital health information anywhere, anytime. EMR is definitely changing the healthcare system and a lot of us are just beginning to realize its significance, with the dawn of a new era of accountable and accessible care for all.

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