When running an agency, there are multiple operations that need to be tracked – schedules, trainings, clock-ins and outs, hiring, and more! Having multiple systems to track all of this can really bog down an agency’s operations. An integrated system has multiple benefits that impact all sectors of an agency.

1.     Reduced Data Entry

Entering data into an electronic system manually can be a frustrating and time-consuming job. Integration cuts this work by half. When fully integrated, the administrative burden is reduced and work efficiency improved. Eliminating data entry hassles result in time and money savings.

2.     Higher Reimbursement Velocity

Integration improves the first pass claim rates. Staff will spend less time working on rejections with an improved the first pass claim ratio.

3.     One Central Management Solution

An integrated solution reduces training needs and increases acceptance long term. Staff learn one integrated system that increases collaboration and accountability. Improved workflow should = improved care.

4.     Improved Interoperability

An integrated system improves the communication between the internal systems of your agency by creating a smooth channel for the flow of information.

5. Transparency

An integrated system empowers your agency with a transparent workflow. You can more easily track the number of individuals receiving service, submit claims more promptly, get paid earlier, minimize rejected claims, spot missed billing and manage receivables in a single place. A transparent workflow helps identify areas that require attention.

It was recently announced that The American Rescue Plan would provide billions of dollars for HCBS programs. Below are more details about the package. Check out the first blog to learn more.

• Increases the total dollars available for Medicaid HCBS, as states are required to maintain their current HCBS spending to qualify for the enhanced federal funds. Specifically, states have to maintain their level of HCBS spending as of April 1, 2021. The proposed 10 percentage point increase for HCBS is added to the state’s regular Medicaid matching rate (which ranges from 50% to 78% in FY 2022), as well as to other FMAP increases available to states, including the 6% percentage point increase for Community First Choice attendant care services, the 6.2% increase provided to address the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, any disaster recovery FMAP (available to states with a federally declared disaster and a certain amount of FMAP decline), and the 90% federal matching rate for Medicaid expansion adults under the ACA, as well as a proposed 5% in the regular matching rate for states newly adopting the ACA expansion provided in a separate section of the bill. The cumulative enhanced matching rate for Medicaid HCBS under the bill is capped at 95%.

• Estimated total Medicaid HCBS spending varies widely by state, ranging from $198 million dollars in Wyoming to nearly $22 billion in California. The additional $11.4 billion federal dollars from this FMAP increase is distributed proportional to the size of state HCBS programs, with California receiving nearly $2.2 billion additional federal dollars, Missouri $226 million and Wyoming receiving about $19.8 million additional federal dollars.

• States have a new option to provide community-based mobile crisis intervention services with 85% federal matching funds for the first 3 years. The additional funds must supplement, not supplant, the level of state spending for these services in the fiscal year before the first quarter that a state elects this option. Services must be otherwise covered by Medicaid and provided by a multidisciplinary team to enrollees experiencing a mental health or substance use disorder crisis outside of a hospital or other facility setting. These services generally do not have to be offered statewide, do not have to be comparable for all enrollees, and can restrict enrollees’ free choice of provider. The new option is available to states for 5 years, beginning April 1, 2022. The law also authorizes $15 million for state planning grants, to be awarded by the HHS Secretary as soon as practicable.

• Autistic individuals and their families have benefited from the economic impact payments provided by previous COVID-19 relief bills. However, those bills excluded dependents over the age of 16 from eligibility. The American Rescue Plan incorporates legislation to ensure that dependents over the age of 16 will qualify for $1,400 stimulus checks.

• The American Rescue Plan includes $3 billion in dedicated funding for Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) programs.

• States may not use these funds to directly or indirectly reduce net tax revenue. This restriction will remain in place from March 3, 2021 until a state spends all remaining funds. If states violate this restriction, they must repay an equivalent amount of the federal aid.

Use this chart to see how much funding your state will receive.

Agency Workforce Management integrates with multiple pay on demand platforms such as Pay On Demand, Square Wallet, Dayforce On Demand, and more to help providers compete in hiring and retention.

Bi-weekly and semi-monthly payroll cycles may be on the way out. To better compete with other industries in the hiring war, agencies are using time and attendance to make a portion of their pay available to employees on a daily basis.

Pay on demand providers let your employees control when they get paid. Agencies can empower employees to meet financial goals and pay bills on time. Employees who reach financial security stay longer, reducing turnover and costs.

• No employer fees
• No more funding or managing advances
• Instantly boost job satisfaction and employee retention
• Help your agency stand-out in the crowd
• Stop employees moving to other employers who don’t offer this benefit
• Improve time and attendance compliance

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How Time and Attendance Integrates with Pay On Demand Providers

1. Each agency can create it’s own rules as to which employees are eligible, how much they are eligible for, etc.
2. As soon as an employee completes a shift, Agency Workforce Management transmits the hours worked, and base pay, to the Pay On Demand provider.
3. Clock-outs are captured in real time from biometrics, telephone, and internet enabled devices like smart phones, PC’s, and tablets.
4. Employees who sign up with the pay on demand provider can access their payroll at anytime.
5. There is a fee for the employee to get paid the next day; same day is usually higher. Fees vary by pay on demand provider.
6. At the end of the pay period, MITC Time and Attendance integrates with your payroll sending the full payroll including adjustments, pay differentials, holiday pay, PTO, and overtime.
7. The pay on demand provider deposits the remaining balance with the employee.
8. Your payroll software/service does not need to change unless it does not support pay on demand. All major payroll providers offer integration. Tax filing, W2 procedures, 401K, and HSA filing all remain the same.

Pay on demand providers fund the advances. The employer runs and remits payroll as it normally does. Employees receive 100% of payroll on payday or earlier. The pay on demand provider gets paid back through the normal payroll process for any early transfers made.

Louisville, Kentucky based BrightSpring, which was formerly known as Rescare, is one of the largest providers of home and community-based health services in the United States. Its home care services line employs about 20,000 caregivers. BrightSpring started offering pay on demand recently.

“Traditionally, we’ve paid people in a semi-monthly cycle, and that’s the way we’ve always done it,” Rexanne Domico, president of home health care services and neuro rehabilitation at BrightSpring, told Home Health Care News. “The idea really came up when we started talking about how do we pay more frequently? How can we crack that code?”

“The problem sometimes for this workforce is the ability to access pay when they need it,” she said.

With one in four caregivers living below the poverty line, lack of cash could discourage prospective caregivers and force them into different, more cash-rich, lucrative lines of work. For example, candidates could receive immediate money waiting tables or earn higher wages working for Amazon.

“We fully believe that the companies that are able to attract and retain caregivers are the companies that are going to see the growth in the coming months and years in the space,” Domico said. “The ability to solve [for pay challenges] for this workforce is a huge answer to this problem.”

BrightSpring began exploring its Pay On Demand initiative about a year ago. The program, which is called “Pay Out,” went live at the end of 2018. It allows employees across the organization — not just caregivers — to access pay as it’s earned.

Already, about 9,000 employees are using Pay Out, Domico said, and the program is achieving what it’s meant to: attracting employees and improving retention.

“We are seeing a lot of interest when we’re talking with our applicants about Pay Out,” Domico said. “We see caregivers saying they’re picking up additional hours because they can get paid for those hours quicker than working somewhere else. We also see some early impact on retention with the people who are engaging in Pay On Demand.”

DSP’s have been one of the critical groups at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19.

To show our appreciation, MITC announced in April of 2020 that we would give away $10,000 to 31 hardworking and dedicated DSP’s who were nominated by someone from their agency. 

MITC values the hard work put forth by DSPs everyday, and hoped to show our appreciation through these prizes!

Over the course of several months, we received hundreds of nominations sharing the stories of incredibly hardworking and dedicated DSPs; each one unique and notable.

A team of MITC employees read through every story to pick the 31 winners, a task that was not taken lightly. Eventually, our winners were chosen and two presentations were given, sharing their remarkable stories.

The DSP community works hard every day, not just during a crisis, which is why MITC will be repeating the DSP Awards in 2021. DSP’s are deserving of all recognition possible, and MITC is hoping to contribute to that. Keep an eye out this summer for more information on how to nominate your DSP!

Thank you to all DSP’s for your hard work in 2020, as well as your continued efforts going into 2021.

Download the eBook to read the 2020 winners’ stories.