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Q: It’s budget season! As the Chief Financial Officer at HealthPRO Heritage, what is your company’s approach to supporting clients during their budgeting process?
Thoupos: It is critically important that we remain well-aligned with clients' goals and expectations for the upcoming year so we take an active role in budgeting processes. In fact, our deep understanding of the many factors that impact SNF and senior living budgets -- and our resources to help drive towards fiscal goals – is one of our key differentiators as a rehab and health innovations company.
Q: Can you explain how a HealthPRO Heritage participates in the SNF and Senior Living budgeting process?
Thoupos: We aim to drive success at an enterprise level. As such, I think about our role in clients' budgeting processes in two ways.
First, our team shares historical, benchmark, and forecasted market-specific data to help inform realistic budget decisions. For example, we encourage clients to consider clinical acuity trends (not just in their own communities but for competitors, too) that may impact budget-related factors such as admissions processes and average daily PDPM rates. Likewise, we track changes in managed care penetration and contract terms that can dramatically affect the accuracy of budgeted costs and revenue.
Second, HealthPRO Heritage Develops and executes customized Work Plans to help achieve clients’ budgeted goals. So, if we have identified issues around CMI capture, we prioritize process improvement, IDT training, and targeted clinical programs, such as our proprietary Clinical Grand Rounds platform. Another example is related to driving occupancy, because most clients will project aggressive growth targets for 2023. For Senior Living clients, our Work Plans will include collaborative, proactive programming to enhance resident longevity, engagement and length of stay (because even incremental increases in residents' length of stay have been proven to impact revenue!) We've also developed several new resources to drive census on behalf of clients; for example, ask for details about our proprietary Census and Network Development Training Library here.
Q: Transparency must be an integral part of your approach. Please comment on what your communication is like with SNF and Senior Living providers.
Thoupos: Ideally, our clients share answers to questions such as:
- What are your pain points, and where are you at risk?
- What metrics are defining your bottom-line success? For example, are you tracking Cost Per Patient/Day, Average Daily Rate, and Average Cost/Month?
- If your goal is to drive occupancy, can you be specific about which level of care (i.e., in Memory Care, Assisted Living, or Independent Living?)
- Have you considered alternative strategies to mitigate nursing/CNA staffing challenges? (HealthPRO Heritage offers concierge-level support to reduce nursing/CNA, for example.)
- Most importantly, we ask: How can we help?
Owners and operators may not expect their traditional rehab company to support budgeting processes, but providers see value and ROI in HealthPRO Heritage's ability to get in the weeds. After all, it’s in our best interest for clients to remain financially solvent, so we continue to invest in resources and expertise to support their fiscal success.
Q: What other investments made by HealthPRO Heritage support clients’ revenue upside?
Thoupos: There are several HealthPRO Heritage initiatives focused on optimizing client margin; I'll share two specific examples here.
First, our team provides revenue cycle management support. HealthPRO Heritage completes root cause analyses and offers permanent solutions such as:
- Regularly review/fix clients' Aging Reports
- Drive a robust Triple Check Process
- Triage of denials and other problems with Managed Care claims
- Redesign processes for better IDT communication and authorizations
Another good example is related to our commitment to technology solutions. HealthPRO Heritage partners with MedaSync to help optimize PDPM outcomes. MedaSync software is ideal for SNFs with staffing and resource challenges and produces demonstrable ROI. Learn more about MedaSync by reviewing our co-sponsored Market Report: Challenges & Trends in SNF Reimbursement here.
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