HHT #164 - Medicare Cost Reports Affect Healthcare Reform

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Your Medicare Cost Report Affects Healthcare Reform

Take time to make sure your cost report is complete and accurate

July 8, 2009

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In this issue...

-- How Accurate Is Your Medicare Cost Report?

-- An Industry Call To Action

-- The Top Ten Techniques of Highly Effective Home Health Marketers

-- Home Health and Hospice Business Builders Workshop

-- 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.


How Accurate Is Your Medicare Cost Report?

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For the last several issues of Home Health Care Today, we've been talking about the potential impact of healthcare reform and what you can do to get ready. One thing we know for certain is that MedPAC, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission will have an influence on what the new laws and regulations look like.

MedPAC gets its data from the Medicare cost reports that you file each year. It's our observation that as reimbursement shifted from cost based reimbursement to prospective payment, home health agency leaders became less concerned about the details of their Medicare cost report.

Now that seems to be coming back to bite us as MedPAC makes recommendations to congress based on that cost report data.

The National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) and the Home Care and Hospice Financial Managers Association (HHFMA) have just released a notice asking home health care leaders to be more diligent in preparing cost reports because of the huge increase in cost reports that contain errors that may be misleading the decision makers is Washington.


An Industry Call To Action

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WASHINGTON, DC-July 2, 2009 - National Association for Home Care and Hospice (NAHC) and the Home Care and Hospice Financial Managers Association (HHFMA) announce a national industry awareness campaign on the Home Health Agency (HHA) Medicare Cost Report.

MedPAC recommendations affecting future payment decisions for all home health agencies are being made based on erroneous Medicare cost report data being submitted by more than 20% of home health agencies across the country. Reports by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and NAHC reveal that nearly one of every four cost reports cannot be used for the purpose of collecting or evaluating data for the home health prospective payment system (PPS). Congress places great reliance on MedPAC in determining a course of action for Medicare provider payment rates. MedPAC has recommended that payment rates be rebased using cost report data.

This is a critical issue for our industry as the cost report is the only source of cost, charge, profit, and visit information that government agencies have available for the home health industry.

NAHC and HHFMA have launched a campaign to coordinate with industry associations, trade press, and consulting professionals who prepare cost reports to inform them of the critical importance of proper cost report preparation. The campaign intends to provide educational resources to interested parties and eventually develop a code of conduct for preparers of cost reports.

HHFMA has established a task force consisting of providers, software vendors and nationally known consultants to identify areas in the cost reporting process that need improvement and to recommend changes that will help the industry in preparing accurate cost reports. The task force will also develop education courses on cost reporting that will be available nationally to providers and other interested parties. With the new Administration and Congress focusing on healthcare, it is imperative that we as an industry, report accurate data for use in the decision making process.

The cost report not only influences payment rates, it can be a source of valuable industry benchmarking data when properly prepared. The cost report provides information on:

WHAT TO DO TODAY

1. Send this document to the person who prepares your cost report
2. Review your cost report data and take responsibility for its content
3. Contact NAHC (202-547-7424) or HHFMA for additional information at www.nahc.org
4. Contact your state association and ask them to endorse the campaign and include this information in their publications
5. Review the Provider Reimbursement Manual (PRM 15-1) and Medicare Cost Report Instructions (PRM 15-2) provided by CMS
6. If your fiscal year end is December 31, 2009, you have a cost report due to be filed by the end of May 2010. Work on a proper and correct filing now and avoid the "need" to submit incomplete or incorrect information at the last minute

Every Medicare certified provider must file a cost report. Every filing of a cost report requires the signature of an HHA official certifying that the report is prepared in accordance with the law and the signer is responsible for its contents. It is the responsibility of that person to insure that the filing is 100% accurate and in compliance with all Federal Laws and Regulations.

If you require additional information about this press release, please contact:
1. Bill Dombi, Director, HHFMA at wad@nahc.org

2. Bill Simione, Jr., Chairman, HHFMA at wsimionejr@simione.com or

3. Tom Boyd, Chairman of Medicare Cost Report Task Force at tboyd@boydandnicholas.com


The Top Ten Techniques of Highly Effective Home Health Marketers

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We've also been telling you that NOW is the time to focus on business growth and development, so you are prepared for the changes that will take place in the marketplace. The more marketshare you have, the easier it will be to survive the coming adjustments to how we get reimbursed.

Back in 2004, Leading Home Care pioneered the research into the most effective sales and marketing techniques for home health and hospice. We updated that list again in 2008. As we continue to speak at home health association conferences and corporate meetings across the country, we continue to affirm the results of that research.

Here again are the ten most effective methods to capture referrals that turn into admissions:

  1. Networking in the community
  2. Direct sales calls to current and potential referral sources
  3. Using public relations to get information about your agency in the news media
  4. Using your web site to create brand awareness
  5. Public speaking
  6. Continuing Education for nurses and other professionals
  7. Sending a paper newsletter
  8. Sending an electronic newsletter
  9. Direct mail, including letters, fliers, and post cards
  10. Health fairs and special events

While all of these techniques are effective based on the feedback from successful users, the key is execution. Having the people, processes, and language in place to effectively use these top ten techniques does make all the difference in the world.

For example, one of the biggest challenges we hear from clients and seminar participants is recruiting, selecting, and managing home health care sales representatives. Finding the right person is critical, and hiring the wrong one is an expensive mistake.

Now is the time to look at your whole sales and marketing process and infrastructure, and get ready for the future that is coming your way.


Home Health and Hospice Business Builders Workshop

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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.

The program will kick off with Dr. Tray Dunaway, MD, CSP, a physician and surgeon from Camden, South Carolina who will help you connect the dots of home health care and hospice. Then Dr. Dunaway will guide you through the process of building relationships with physicians and penetrating the doctors office staff.

A new face to many of you will be Elizabeth Jeffries, RN, CSP, CPAE. A former home health care nurse, Elizabeth is an award winning professional speaker, author, and executive coach who works with health care leaders who want to maximize their potential. Elizabeth will present the key elements of selling in style, and will describe the critical behavioral styles of highly effective home health and hospice sales professionals. Elizabeth will also give you tips on selecting and coaching high impact sales professionals.

Stephen Tweed, CSP, will be there to describe in detail the seven sources of competitive advantage in home health care and hospice, and to apply the top ten techniques of highly effective home health care marketers. Stephen will also guide you through the seven step relationships selling process and describe how to turn referrals into admissions.

You won't want to miss this exciting opportunity to gain new sales and marketing skills that will enable you to be more competitive in your marketplace.

Register Today!


About the Author

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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

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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

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phone: 1-866-209-5101

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