Home Care Resources

,

Employer Mandate Component of Affordable Care Act Amended

Home Care Agencies Get Respite from ACA
The Affordable Care Act’s Employer Mandate Amended

A crucial decision that affects home care agencies was made yesterday as the Obama Administration postponed some crucial parts of the Affordable Care Act relating to the Employer Mandate .

The IRS issued a Final Rule February 10, 2014, changing the implementation of the employer mandate provisions of the Affordable Care Act to ensure a gradual phase-in of the employer mandate.  For 2015, the rule states that the employer responsibility provision will generally apply to larger firms with 100 or more full-time employees. In 2016 the mandate will apply to  employers with 50 or more full-time employees.

A Fact Sheet issued by the US Treasury Department gives details on implementing the employer shared responsibility under the Affordable  Care Act (ACA) for 2015.

Another bright spot for home care agencies was introduced to the House of Representatives on February 4th defining a full-time employee as working 40 hours instead of the 30 hours that was originally proposed as a component of the ACA.

According to a release by the Home Care Association of America, “The bill would repeal the 30-hour threshold for classification as a full-time employee for purposes of the employer mandate in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and replace it with 40-hours.  The bill has the support of 201 members of Congress and was passed out of Committee on a vote of 23-14.”

Check the Federal Register for updates.

Both of these actions are very good news for home care and home health agencies.

 

, ,

Attracting Longer Term Higher Paying Clients

Focus on Profitability is Topic for Webinar January 16, 2014
corecubed and HCAOA webinar Jan 16, 2014

Profitability is the key to success for any business, and sometimes higher revenue or more billable hours does not translate into profitability. In home care, for instance, if increased billable hours are short term with high staff turnover, the hours become not profitable. One strategy for success in home care is to reach for the higher level clientele.

Join Marissa Snook, MOST Program Administrator and me in a Home Care Association of America sponsored webinar today as we discuss how providing a high quality service, and marketing it as such, allows the capacity to really focus on the longer term, higher paying clients that need a lot of support to stay at home from frailty to the grave.

You will find out what it takes to actually focus on quality and the provision of a higher level of service, and how to market that. In order to reach the higher level of clientele, agencies must position themselves as experts in the field, and have every marketing communication emanate quality.

In today’s webinar you will learn the correlations between offering a higher level of service and:

a) how your agency is branded
b) how and what you use for education for referral sources and families
c) how your agency is positioned
d) how your agency goes to market.

The strategy behind this specific home care model benefits both the agency, because it’s more profitable, and also the clientele, because the agency can better support them in their desire to remain at home.

There is still time to register for today’s corecubed and HCAOA webinar at 3 PM Eastern time. Won’t you join us?

 

, ,

Participate in the 2014 Private Duty Benchmarking Study

corecubed is proud to partner with Home Care Pulse for the 2014 Benchmarking Study
Private Duty Benchmarking Study for 2014

There is so little information on the private pay industry in America because it is largely unregulated, and it varies widely from state to state. February 1st  is the opening date for participation in this 5th annual study, largest (and only really) national study of private pay home care. corecubed, in partnership with Home Care Pulse, invites your agency to participate this year by taking the 2014 Survey during the month of February.

Hundreds of home care businesses participate throughout America each year. It’s sponsored annually by Home Care Pulse and the Home Care Associations of America (HCAOA). Since we estimate there are upwards of 15,000 agencies, it would be great to up this participation number. I personally use this study in consultation with home care agencies across America because it provides standards against which to measure success.

To get the most out of the results, it takes some planning and preparation so numbers are accurate. Each agency should prepare for the survey, by visiting www.benchmarking.homecarepulse.com before February 1. Download the 2014 Prep Worksheet, which will give you a full preview of the survey questions and help you prepare your responses. With your completed Prep Worksheet, you’ll be able to take the online survey in less than 15 minutes, when it opens in February.

Immediately after you complete the 2014 Survey this February, you’ll receive your 2014 Personalized Report. This free report provides you with powerful key performance indicators for your business, including information on profit & loss, sales close ratios, caregiver turnover, referral growth, complete survey responses and much more! You’ll be able to compare your results to the latest industry benchmarks when the full survey results are published in the “2014 Private Duty Benchmarking Study” this April.

Plan to participate and prepare now! The 2014 Survey opens on Saturday, February 1st. Visit www.benchmarking.homecarepulse.com to download the Prep Worksheet and learn more about the benefits of participating in the 2014 Survey.

 

, ,

Resolution for the New Year: Succeed

Resolve to succeed in 2014 with MOST
Unique home care marketing through corecubed’s MOST Program

Making resolutions is a part of each January. Keeping them is another matter. What are you going to do in 2014, differently than you did in previous years? How about resolving to do whatever it takes for you to succeed? And, what does it take to be successful?

A goal. First you do have to set goals. Then implementing the process to achieve those goals.

At corecubed, we specialize in home care marketing. Marketing home care is really different than marketing other products and services, so, if you are not being successful in your marketing efforts and not meeting your goals, why would you not be open to trying a proven process to achieve success?

Check out corecubed’s MOST Program that is unique to home care. We have done all the heavy lifting. We have created content and collateral specific to home care marketing. And, not just sales, but marketing that involves education and helpful resources, and creating a partnership with referral sources so they depend on your home care agency to help them when their clients have issues. It’s pretty amazing, and definitely worth a try as something different for 2014.

 

,

Important Changes at the Home Care Association of America

HCAOA moves HQ to DC
The Home Care Association of America is Moving HQ to DC

The private duty home care industry continues to grow and continues to integrate into the health care delivery system. A very hearty industry welcome to the new executive director, Phil Bongiorno, who joins HCAOA after some prestigious association leadership in the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, American Academy of Audiology, College of American Pathologists, and the American Public Health Association. He and the office are moving to DC to be in the middle of the action, instead of being in the middle of America where there old offices were in Indianapolis.

If you want to update your CRM, the new address as of January 6, 2014 is:
412 1st Street, SE, Lobby Level Washington, D.C.  20003

The new HQ is right next door to the action of Congress and the federal government as it is in close proximity with Capitol Hill and the Congressional Office buildings.

This is an incredibly important move for HCAOA, as it clearly positions this association to be the leader in the home care delivery model of the future, which will be a combination of government and privately funded services that all work together to assist with an aging America that wants to age in place in their place of choice, whether it be the original family home or a facility or some place that has become home due to family shifts in geography.

Welcome, Phil! We look forward to a long, pleasant and productive relationship.

 

«‹ 2 3 4 5 6 ›»