Aged Care Insite Issue 98 | December-January 2017 | Page 14

industry & policy Home-care providers’ finance check Securing viability in 2017 means adopting policies that work out the kinks in cash flow and cut out unnecessary costs. By Ross McDonald A head of the next stage of changes to the way home-care packages are made available to consumers, from February 2017, it’s time to see how competitive your business will be in this environment. Here are 10 guidelines and pitfalls to keep in mind for success. 1 CLAIM QUICKLY All home-care operators have a Medicare subsidy claim process in place; however, a significant number do not have Medicare funds coming in at the start of the month and