The Caretech
Budgetwire Blog
|
 |
Caretech Group's Budgetwire Blog addresses the complex budgetary issues facility
executives face. We're interested in hearing your personal experiences
and challenges each month.
Steve Katz, Vice President of Business Development at Caretech Group and Lecturer on Health Services Administration at City University of New York's Lehman College hosts Caretech's Budgetwire Blog. Mr Katz has over 25 years industry experience and 12 years experience lecturing future industry leaders.
|
|
|
Is your organization proactive or reactive? Planning your response to anticipated Medicaid cuts is crucial to your success...
Dear ,
As I report on the Caretech Blog (Caretech Budgetwire on www.caretechgroup.com),
tax revenue for the first quarter of 2009 compared to the same period of 2008
is down significantly for the state and for the nation as a whole. It is likely that the tax revenue for the
second quarter will drop at a greater rate than the first quarter. Even though the recession may indeed have hit bottom, tax revenues will not recover in NY in the near future.
Although the Governor put us on notice in the spring that the
2009-2010 Budget will have a short fall, the $6.0 billion projected gap will
probably be wishful thinking. The
shortfall is likely to be much larger and even with Federal Stimulus help, NYS
will be looking for budget cuts, perhaps as early as this Fall Legislative
Session. Medicaid will be an obvious
target and nursing homes may indeed be the bull's eye.
As the universal coverage debate rages, federal cuts to
Medicare and Medicaid for nursing homes will be our reality. When this is added to the reality of lost tax
revenues, our industry will be dealing with serious challenges. Although nursing homes struggle with
inadequate Medicaid reimbursement, cuts to Medicaid reimbursement for nursing
homes has been protected to some extent because it has increased even in years
where tax revenues have not. It is hard
to imagine that our industry has been protected; yet when one compares tax
revenue and Medicaid reimbursement this conclusion is obvious. The next fiscal year will see reimbursement
cuts that we have never had to cope with.
Such times require aggressive and creative solutions. Caretech brings you both!
Caretech
offers three levels of service to help you better manage supplies and reduce
these expenses. The attention that
Caretech provides assures that your facility is spending its limit resources
judiciously. The information that
Caretech can provide will empower you and your management team to be proactive. If you need to reduce expenses, Caretech will
work collaboratively with you to lower per patient per day expenses with
different options to address the realities of reduced reimbursement.
As you
begin to enter the planning season for the 2010 Budget consider Caretech. Our services will help you weather the
approaching reimbursement tsunami. The
Caretech Vision Statement is more timely than ever: Caretech
will assure that its customers manage supply expenses efficiently and effectively
using Key Performance Indicators to focus their efforts on the delivery of
fiscally sound quality care that meets regulatory and consumer requirements.
|
 |
Shrinking State Revenues And Their Affect On
Long Term Care Facilities In 2009
|
Although State government appears quite
dysfunctional at the moment, we can expect the State to get back to
business very soon. The items to be addressed are not pretty and they
will impact our industry greatly. NYS is looking at a potential budget
deficit for fiscal 2009-2010 given tax revenues collected. Consider the
following table:
NYS First Quarter Tax Revenue Decline (in millions)
Tax Revenue Source Personal Corp Sales Other Total__
2008 $11,709
$1,698
$2,747 $2,103
$18,257
2009 $9,273 $1,292 $2,590 $2,005 $15,160
Variance
$(2,436) $(406) $(157) $(98) $(3,097)
% Change NY -17%
% Change all US -12%
Projeted % Change US 2nd Quarter -20%
Source: The Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Gov't, State Revenue Report July 2009, No 76
Boyd and Dadayan
This table gives us a sense of the contraction in tax revenues as a
result of the recession. When you consider the Federal side as well as
the deficit spending to end the recession, we can expect Medicaid to
absorb a significant portion of the resulting cuts these economics will
require.
Medicare is also looking to reduce reimbursement levels. With market
basket and recalibration adjustments, Medicare may reduce skilled
nursing reimbursement by 1.2% or $1.0 Billion for the next fiscal year.
The Obama Administration is considering ways to fund Universal Health
Care coverage with existing Medicaid and Medicare funds. A potential
scenario that finances a piece of this new initiative is the transfer
of funding from inpatient and institutional settings to part of the
cost of universal coverage. Needless to say, how ever universal
coverage is enacted, it is likely that reimbursement to nursing homes
will be negatively impacted.
Our industry has already absorbed significant reimbursement
reductions as part of the Medicaid cuts in the 2009-2010. Additional
reductions for this year and for 2010-2011 will be extremely difficult.
Caretech will help your facility cope with the inevitable revenue
reductions that are coming our way. Caretech delivers real expense
reduction to help offset lost revenue with one of three solutions;
Caretrak TM, Caretrak Plus TM or Caretrak Partner Plus TM
- whether we provide the tools or a combination of tools and executive
expertise. Outsourcing your Purchasing and Accounts Payable to Caretech
are tangible ways to reduce back of the house labor expense using our
Caretrak Partner Plus TM program, allowing you to redirect
labor resources towards direct patient care. With the aid of a
complimentary Benchmark Analysis, and Caretech's pricing and inventory
control systems, you control the opportunity to reduce these expenses.
With Caretech as your strategic partner, your facility is better equipped to survive the revenue reduction onslaught with
tangible expense reductions, assuring that your facility continues to
operate efficiently and effectively even in the most difficult times.
Innovation has been the hallmark of the Caretech Group for more than a
decade, now more than ever, it's time to take advantage of your
Caretech resource!
|
| |
Who Is Caretech?
|
Who is Caretech?
Caretech Group was founded by Paul Hellman in 1994 after an
early career managing LTC Facilities. As
a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator, Hellman retains an 'up close and
personal' reference to the experience of his customers. Hellman's astute strategic sense coupled
with his ability to analyze data, positioned Caretech to put systems in place
that quickly identify and resolve challenges.
These tools prove beneficial to Caretech's customers time and time
again. A profound and traditional sense
of integrity combined with collaborative negotiation techniques has produced
valuable and innovative business alliances that benefit Caretech's customers. This array of offerings includes; medical supplies,
food services, financial and technological tools that streamline administrative
and patient care processes. Focusing on
maximizing supply utilization, and establishing "best practices" within client
facilities, Caretech is now extraordinarily well positioned to lead clientele
through looming cutbacks anticipated from Medicare and Medicaid in the coming
months.
|
|
|
I sincerely hope you've found our second edition of the Budgetwire informative and that you'll take
this opportunity to discover the difference that Caretech can make for your
facility.
Call me at 914.400.7124 and we
will meet with you at your earliest convenience.
Sincerely,
Steve Katz
Vice President
Business Development
Caretech Group |
|
|
