Working in an industry that is so significantly funded by Government, we are at the mercy of the instability of future political and policy changes which, can make decision making difficult and stressful. The major source of concern right now for the industry is the looming changes to ACFI coming in July 1. No one can predict the future funding changes, but organisations can certainly mitigate the risk by being completely across both their funding position and claiming profile, making it easier to adjust to changes as they occur.
In my role in advising Aged Care organisations across the country, I talk to hundreds of CEOs, CFOs and Facility Managers responsible for funding. They all have varying degrees of concern regarding the future changes, but those who have line of sight and transparency of their funding position are seemingly less concerned than those who do not know their current funding position and claiming profile.
There are some helpful indicators that can quickly tell you if something is not right with your funding.
1. KNOW WHERE YOUR FUNDING COMES FROM
You need to understand your own ACFI domains and claiming profile relative to our industry benchmarks so you can see where problems in your ACFI processes are.
2. COMPARE YOUR FUNDING TO SIMILAR FACILITIES AND A RELEVANT BENCHMARK
You should be completely across how your facility/facilities are currently performing relative to similar facilities and industry benchmarks. Where you are below average, this is a great high level indicator that your admissions or ACFI processes need to be reviewed.
3. KNOW THE RISKS
Feel empowered and make sure you know your data inside out so you know how you will be affected by potential changes and that you can reduce exposure and be pro-active rather than reactive.
MyVitals can help you get ready for the July 1 ACFI changes!
With knowledge comes power, by knowing your funding you can make well informed decisions and not be forced into reactive decisions that could have detrimental consequences for your funding levels; without appropriate funding the level of care your team can deliver your residents can be jeopardised.
MyVitals puts organisations back in the driver’s seat and empowers those responsible for funding the ability to clearly understand the organisations historical performance and current position. MyVitals is a completely free monthly benchmarking and management reporting system that gives you all this data and transparency. It allows you to compare your data to other organisations across Australia. See the difference between your current and potential income, and track your performance over time.
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Heath downie – income solutions manager |
