Hello to everyone in our Million Dollar Community! As always, I hope this message finds you all doing well, and business is booming!
I'm sharing an important article that is well worth your read, consideration, and understanding. The title says is all, but what it doesn't say are the many ripple effects that we will quickly discuss:
After reading that article (seriously, read it. It is well worth the 90 seconds), you'll notice there's some gobbledygook hypothetical solutions which will never come to pass, but you should also recognize the following shortlist of things to consider:
1.0. In looking at that laundry list of closings, it's obvious they are closing due to the "laws of economics" because they are everywhere - across a wide variety of states. Ergo, the facilities are closing due to economic variables versus geographic location.
2.0. For NEMT providers, how do you spell "increased rates of reimbursement?" Those living in rural areas where hospitals are closing will still need to get to medical appointments which means transports are going to increase in mileage and duration. With increased loaded and deadhead mileage plus wait time, yeah, per trip reimbursements are definitely going up.
2.1. If you're all "brokered up" and loving your relationship with your brokers, what/how are you going to demand increased rates of reimbursement? What does that conversation look like? If they won't offer deadhead mileage, will you demand an increase for loaded mileage? If yes, how much?
2.2. Let me guess, your broker doesn't reimburse you for what I call a "forced wait time?" A forced wait time is when you have no choice but to wait for the patient because either trip is too far and it's not worth bringing the driver back, or it is an equipment scenario such as a stretcher. You transport a stretcher-patient to a location where you can't pull the stretcher and send the drivers to another transport, so you're forced to wait on site, not go to another transport, and further lose money.
2.3. My points are, if you're all "brokered up," you better get to negotiating and play the game hard with your brokers, and if you're performing direct pay and private work you need to ensure you're charging the right fees for increased services.
3.0. In addition to increased rates of reimbursement for NEMT, when you consider hospital closing coupled with nursing home closing (I shared that article in a previous message), can you see the increasing demand for home care services???
3.1. There's a reason why waiver and VA rates are increasing in many locations - in some states, DRAMATICALLY! For example, in Ohio alone, waiver rates are increasing by 40%!!! Yes, you read that correctly. Why? Because demand is quickly increasing, and capacity (caregivers) is limited. Ergo, you need to be able to pay more to improve your chances for finding, training, and retaining competent and capable caregivers.
Trust me, I could drill down further, but I trust this short list is enough to get you thinking.
See you at the Top!
Joel E. Davis | 
