HHT Banner 1

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Get Ready for Healthcare Reform

We can't predict the future, but we can get ready for what may happen!

June 10, 2009

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In this issue...

-- Get Ready for Healthcare Reform

-- Political Change is an Unknown Force

-- A Clear Vision is a Powerful Motivator

-- Home Health and Hospice Business Builders Workshop

-- Academy for Private Duty Home Care in Orlando

-- About the Author

-- Permission to Reproduce

Welcome,

Welcome to this issue of Home Health Care Today, the leading electronic newsletter for home health care and hospice executives who want to grow their business and get ready for the future. Every other Wednesday, we bring you strategies and insights that will help you take your agency to new heights.

For ideas to grow your Private Duty Home Care business, subscribe to Private Duty Today, the bi-weekly newsletter for non-medical home care CEOs. Your complimentary subscription is available at www.privatedutytoday.com.


Get Ready for Healthcare Reform

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Crystal BallI don't know about you, but my crystal ball is broken. I'm not sure what will happen in the future of healthcare reform.

The buzz around Washington is that June will be a critical month as two committees in the U.S. Senate begin drafting legislation to reform our country's healthcare system.

Meanwhile, President Barack Obama has mobilized the grass-roots supporters that helped elect him to lobby for his vision of health care reform, which includes offering Americans a government-run health plan as an alternative to private insurance. A coalition of labor unions and other organizations plan to spend millions on organizing efforts promoting President Obama's plan.

At the same time, business groups are working behind the scenes to shape the legislation. While they have serious concerns about some of the proposals -- including the public health plan option and a mandate for employers to provide insurance -- few are trying to block health care reform at this point. The cost of health insurance has become so expensive that most everyone agrees that something must be done.

Here are just a few of the concepts being floated around to reform our health care system:

  • A government health plan to provide insurance for the 47 million uninsured individuals in our country
  • Collaboration between providers and insurers to slow the growth in healthcare costs
  • Mandates for employers to provide insurance for all workers
  • Mandates for individuals to purchase their own health insurance
  • Reducing payments to providers to pay for insuring the uninsured

And, although few people want to talk about it, there's still significant behind the scenes discussions about creating a single payer nationalized healthcare system like Canada or Great Britain.

So What Does This All Mean to Home Health Care Leaders?

Well, it means that our jobs are much more difficult today than they were one year ago. Two important parts of your role as a senior executive in home health care, hospice, or private duty are to grow your business and to get ready for the future.

Growing your business is only slightly more difficult than a year ago, but getting ready for the future is MUCH more difficult. No one knows what's really going to happen.

And you've heard me say it before in my speaking and writing. Your job is not to predict the future, but to get ready for what happens. There are four big factors that will determine the future of your home health agency or hospice:

  1. The forces and trends shaping the environment
  2. Your desired future
  3. Competitive Advantage in the marketplace
  4. Leadership

Let's take a look at a few of the forces and trends shaping your future ...


Political Change is an Unknown Force

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In our home health and hospice strategy retreats we spend time with executives looking at five forces that are causing change in our industry:

  • Economic Pressures
  • Demographic Shifts
  • Consumer Choice
  • Technology
  • Political Change

We'll discuss each of these in future issues, but for today let's focus on Political Change.

President Obama has made it clear that healthcare reform is on the front burner and he wants to make it happen. He's enlisted both houses of Congress to work on presenting a bill that will provide the desired reform.

As we have studied the various proposals being discussed, and reviewed the opposition to each, it's clear that we're not very clear about what will come out of this.

But it's clear that something will happen. Who knows what, or how it will affect Home Health & Hospice.

As executives of highly effective home care companies, there are several things we can do to get our organizations ready for the future:

  1. Continue to study the information coming out of Washington
  2. Stay involved - or get involved - in your state and national home care associations
  3. Keep your executive team involved in discussing the issues
  4. Develop a clear vision for your agency - a mental picture of your desired future
  5. Focus on growth - now is the time to gain market share so you're positioned for the fallout that may come
  6. Train your sales and marketing team to bring in more referrals that turn into admissions
  7. Develop your middle managers so they have the knowledge and skills to adapt to change
  8. Communicate with all of your employees about how changes will affect them personally
  9. Be an encourager - your people need you to lead them from a position of strength
  10. Continue to measure results and give feedback to your management team


A Clear Vision is a Powerful Motivator

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The other day I saw a video clip of the famous FDR speech when he said, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."

In this environment of uncertainty, your employees are no doubt operating at some level of fear. They are seeing their friends, family, and perhaps spouses losing jobs. They see companies closing and big car companies being taken over by the federal government.

There's a lot of uncertainty.

One of the ways you can reduce their fear and give them a sense of hope is to renew your vision for the future of your agency, and get them involved in a plan to make this vision become reality.

Lately, I've been facilitating a number of strategic planning processes and executive strategy retreats. We've spent a little more time focusing on the visioning process, because leaders are more uncertain about the future. They want to spend some time processing their fears and concerns and painting a work picture of a possible and desirable future.

We're also seeing more home health executives getting input into that visioning process by conducting focus groups of employees and planning sessions with middle managers. The more people in your agency who are involved in the visioning process, the more they will be motivated to help make that vision become reality.

When you and your executive team have created a clear mental picture of your possible and desired future, and when you have effectively communicated that with your home care team, you'll find them less fearful and more motivated to grow your agency and get ready for the future.

For Help with Visioning for the Future


Home Health and Hospice Business Builders Workshop

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mark your calendar for September 16, 17, and 18 to come to Louisville, KY for the 2009 Home Health and Hospice Business Builders Workshop. This highly interactive workshop will be designed to help you develop the sales, marketing, and public relations skills you need to grow your agency and get ready for the future.

As we analyzed the attendance from our April Certified Home Care Sales Professional Workshop and the feedback we received from participants, we saw an opportunity to take home health and hospice sales and marketing to a new level.

The Home Health and Hospice Business Builders Workshop is that new opportunity! So if you were planning on attending our CHCSP conference in September 2009, you will want to attend the Home Health and Hospice Business Builders Workshop in September 2009.

And for you folks who have participated in one of our previous CHCSP conferences and were waiting on the next level of programming, this workshop is for you too!

There will be more information on our web site shortly, but I wanted to get the dates on your calendar right away. Remember, for previous attendees and new attendees - Home Health and Hospice Business Builders Workshop - September 16, 17, and 18, Louisville, Kentucky.


Academy for Private Duty Home Care in Orlando

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Join me in Orlando, Florida on Wednesday, June 24, 2009 for the Academy for Private Duty Home Care, sponsored by the Home Care Association of Florida. The Academy will be conducted as an all-day track within the association's annual conference.

Get more information and insights into the three pillars of private duty home care; Promotion, People, and Profits. Get the latest strategies and insights to help you grow your business. Click on the link below to download the conference brochure. Then visit the HCAF web site to register.

Download HCAF conference brochure


About the Author

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stephen Tweed, CSP, is Chairman and CEO of Leading Home Care ... a Tweed Jeffries company. For over 25 years he has been a recognized leader in strategy and leadership development for home health care & hospice companies and associations. He is the author or co-author of seven books, five of which were written specifically for the home care industry. He has served on the boards of directors of three not-for-profit home care agencies, and has served as interim President & CEO of a $25 million home care company.

Stephen is a past-President of the National Speakers Association, a 3500 member international society of experts who speak professionally. He is also the father of a 38 year-old son who is physically disabled and uses the services of home care on a daily basis.

Meet the entire Leading Home Care Team


Permission to Reproduce

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Permission is granted to healthcare publications, associations and companies to reproduce this article in your publication, or to distribute copies to your leaders, on the condition that you reproduce the credits and contact information as follows: "Reprinted with permission from Home Health Care Today. Copyright 2009 Stephen C. Tweed. To receive a FREE subscription to this newsletter, log on to www.leadinghomecare.com."



Contact Leading Home Care

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

phone: 1-866-209-5101

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~