The Home Care and Hospice Financial Managers Association and the National Association for Home Care & Hospice are pleased to present a valuable addition to the annual Financial Management Conference. For the first time, HHFMA and NAHC offer a pre-conference specially designed to meet the needs of new providers of Medicare home health services. This pre-conference provides all of the crucial elements needed by new providers to take the right path at the outset towards appropriate financial management.

. Setting Up A Financial System: Budgeting, Cash Flow Planning, Record Development, and Data Needs
is essential that a new home health agency quickly, efficiently, and appropriately establish a financial system if that agency is to succeed. This program provides the basics of that structure including setting up an appropriate chart of accounts, separate cost accounting requirements and basic financial statements, charge structure, line of credit tied to cash on billing, budgeting, and statistical data requirements.

Objectives

Identify basic elements to a successful financial system in a home health agency.
Describe necessary elements for a home health agency budget.
Recognize statistical data requirements necessary for operational benchmarking.

2. Cost Report 101

All Medicare home health agencies must annually submit a cost report. This is not a simple or useless exercise. While home health agencies are no longer subject to cost reimbursement, the properly submitted cost report must adhere to cost reimbursement principles. At the same, the properly composed cost report can become a valuable tool for the financial management of a Medicare home health agency. This workshop introduces participants to the cost report, addresses cost reporting principles, and provides insights as to how the cost report can be used to help manage the agency's operations.

Objectives

Describe the basics of the Medicare cost reporting process.
Explain Medicare cost reimbursement principles as they relate to cost reporting.
Recognize internal uses for the Medicare cost report.

3. Managing and Monitoring a New Home Health Agency

With any business, first year headaches occur. A Medicare home health agency presents an unusually complicated first year business with its own unique issues. This program provides guidance from one who has done it, managing and monitoring everything from revenue recognition to case mix, contractual adjustments, financial and statistical indicators, and the competition to achieve a successful home health agency.

Objectives

Identify likely financial issues to be addressed in a new home health agency.
Describe methods for staying on top of emerging issues in a new provider
Recognize the efficient steps to take for first year survival and later year's success.