CONTROLLING COSTS
Are you afraid to admit high cost patients to the Medicare Part A program? How can you make money when meds are $1,000 per week and your rate is only $350 per day? Do you turn away high cost patients because you can’t afford a financial mistake?
Caregiver Consultants help make these decisions routine. The Caregiver OM System maps out the expected revenue stream by day and compares it to the daily labor and ancillary costs. A breakeven point for each case is identified, so you generate profits from that day forward.
Under an all-inclusive RUG’s rate, component costs must be controlled or the margins will go to ancillary providers. Therapies, for one, need to be accountable for their minutes. Predicting high therapy minutes without specific details will result in inefficiency, high costs and risk of fiscal intermediary denials. Pharmaceuticals are also a problem. The doctor writes the order, the pharmacy company fills it and the SNF pays for the medications. A cost profile for each Medicare patient is necessary to predict ancillary costs and then compare the actual to budget so the RUG’s rate produces a margin for each patient. Caregiver CM System does this as a part of the care planning process.
In the nursing home business staff turnover continues to be higher than that of normal small to medium sized business. Because of the stress levels and the low pay rates, turnover in the entry level positions is very costly. It is estimated the turnover costs the typical 100 bed nursing facility between $150,000 to $200,000 per year in recruiting, training and overtime costs. The Caregiver Management System is designed to lower turnover by directing the care within the workload requirements of the staff. In other words the staff can get their job done and feel good about it. Along with the reduction of turnover comes better attendance, fewer staff and patient injuries, more consistent and better quality. All of this adds up to a much improved bottom line. Login to read more... |
