A strong majority of hospices are facing deep cuts to revenue in calendar year 2020, according to results from a National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) survey.1 This is largely due to dramatic drops in referrals/admissions from nursing facilities, hospitals, and the community. Survey results showed:
- A full 60 percent of hospices predict a decrease in annual revenues during calendar year 2020.2
- At the same time, more than 80% of hospices expect costs for 2020 to increase, with 25 percent expecting an increase of 15% or more largely due to costs related to Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). 3
- Adding to our woes, 44% of hospices report a reduction in fundraising revenues – an outlet traditionally used to cover our unreimbursed costs.4
How are Hospices Managing?
Financially speaking, 2020 has presented a tsunami of obstacles to hospices around the country. While telecommunication visits have helped to ease hospices’ ability to connect with patients, obstacles remain in 2020. To weather the pandemic:
- More than 46% of hospice survey respondents have received loans or grants through the Small Business Administration (SBA).5
- 41% of hospices have been forced to decrease patient care staff.6
- In addition, 37% have reduced their administrative staff.7
How are hospices combating these downward trends? Some are using technology to create new efficiencies that allow them to recover income more quickly, and perhaps recover missed opportunities. Cutting costs and recovering revenue in small ways over and over can add up to thousands of dollars. Eliminating small inefficiencies can give hospices significant financial benefits by the end of the year. Even hospices among us that are already running lean stand to benefit from the efficiencies new technology offers.
An efficient electronic health record (EHR) software solution built specifically for hospices can help prevent lost revenue due to late filing of Notice of Elections (NOE). Does your current system provide you with auto alerts that prompt you to file the NOE within five days of the patient being admitted? That’s one way to speed up revenue recovery time.
Speaking of timely billing, some systems give hospices the ability to populate UB-04 automatically, reducing the burden on billers to gather information before submitting a claim, thus speeding up billing.
With hospices facing so many challenges this year, many of us are turning to improvements in technology to help our hospices recover more income by the end of 2020.
Save Hours of Staff Preparation Time with Optima Hospice
Designed and tailored for hospice agencies, this comprehensive EHR software solution offers IDG efficiencies through streamlined, hospice-specific business processes to help reduce staff hours and reduce costs. Learn more.
1-7National Association for Home Care & Hospice, “Hospice in the Time of COVID-19: Findings from the NAHC National Survey,” May 27, 2020.
