20 % Pay Cut for Ohio Independent Providers

U.S.A. Ohio

Published

Any Ohio IP nurses out there? Just wondering what your thoughts are about our wages being cut by 20%. For homecare agencies their 1st hour is only being cut by 5%, while our 1st hour is being cut by 20% for doing the same work. Then for every hour after the 1st hour, agency will keep their full pay rate. Every hour after the 1st hour for independent providers will be cut by 20%, so agencies can continue to receive their full rate!

Anyone else feel the state is trying to get rid of us? 20%.....hmmn!

For Agency: (1) Effective October 1, 2011, reduce the medicaid program's first-hour-unit price for aide services to ninety-seven per cent of the price paid on June 30, 2011, and for nursing services to ninety-five percent of the price paid on June 30, 2011;

For Independent Providers: (2) Effective October 1, 2011, pay for a service that is an aide service or a nursing service provided by an independent provider eighty percent of the price it pays for the same service provided by a provider that is not an independent provider.

Oh, this was called "Victory for Home Care"

"The administration was able to reduce the cuts for agencies by reducing the rates paid to independent providers. Aside from receiving the 5% and 3% cuts on first hours for nurses and aides respectively, all Independent Providers will receive 20% less than the price paid to home care agencies, on the first hour and subsequent unit rates. The funds saved by this reduction will be used by the state to offset the cuts that were proposed for the first hour rates."

As independent provider nurses we do the same work, but yet we will no longer be receiving the same pay as agency. Anyone else out there think something is going on?

Specializes in ICU, PIC, BURN UNIT, PEDS, MED SURG, PSY.

What organization represents us? What happens when no one covers our back? And as we have more nurses go into advanced practice, who will be there then to support us in the ways the AMA did doctors? Does no one find that a problem?

Specializes in LTC , MR/DD, school, home health.

This is just going to make things worse in the long run for the state. Many of us IP's refuse to work for the agencies. There are not enough nurses working with the agencies to fill the waiver patients hours. If my clients parents cannot find nurses for home care they will end up placeing their child at a children's MR/DD facility. It cost the state $6500 a month for two nurses in the home, it is over $12,000 a month for her to be placed in the facility. What in the heck are they thinking?

Specializes in Home Healthcare.

Chrisherrma,

Do you know how many IP nurses there currently are for the Ohio Waiver Home Care Program? Just wondering what everyone is doing. I heard some have voluntarily surrendered their IP number already and are working in LTC facilities. Others could not find a nursing position in a LTC facility or hospital, because of not having "recent" 2 years experience. I guess it depends what area of Ohio you live. Two RN IPs I know applied for chart auditing positions, but did not get hired, because they needed a employment job reference as a IP, but ODJFS does not let us use them, even though they audit us and have records on us. A consumer reference is considered a personal reference, not an employment reference.

no, actually I work in a hospital

Specializes in Home Healthcare.

Any Ohio IPs out there? What area of Ohio are you in? Are you going to accept the 20% pay cut or find a new job?

I wonder if they are trying to get out of the Waiver program. The sad thing about Waiver is you only qualify if you have MA. Medicare patients get nothing. Work all your life and you can't get any care, but if you are poor, you get everything.

Either way they will end up paying the money to a nursing home so nobody wins in this.

Based on the way I have been treated as a criminal by Carestar personnel for the past year I decided that I will only be willing to be an IP for 2 more years if I am still with the same pt I currently have. Now I realize I may go back to the higher paying profession of office cleaning sooner than I had expected. To do this job with the unnecessary microscopic scrutiny and additional work required after hours for less money will not make economic sense. It will be nice getting into a job again where I show up, put in my time,and collect a paycheck without any worries about the job when I'm not on the clock. Bottom line is the economic downturn has apparently hit nursing harder than any one else So many newbies have flooded the job pool that you now have BSN's willing to work for $11.00/hr in "internship" positions. Flipping burgers for $10/hr is much more attractive-free food- than going into debt for more advanced training. The future looks no brighter since it appears most people I run into who are in school now are there to become nurses.

Based on the way I have been treated as a criminal by Carestar personnel for the past year I decided that I will only be willing to be an IP for 2 more years if I am still with the same pt I currently have. Now I realize I may go back to the higher paying profession of office cleaning sooner than I had expected. To do this job with the unnecessary microscopic scrutiny and additional work required after hours for less money will not make economic sense. It will be nice getting into a job again where I show up, put in my time,and collect a paycheck without any worries about the job when I'm not on the clock. Bottom line is the economic downturn has apparently hit nursing harder than any one else So many newbies have flooded the job pool that you now have BSN's willing to work for $11.00/hr in "internship" positions. Flipping burgers for $10/hr is much more attractive-free food- than going into debt for more advanced training. The future looks no brighter since it appears most people I run into who are in school now are there to become nurses.

Office cleaning pays well? Where? How do I get into that? Send me a message with details! I am ready.

Specializes in Home Healthcare.

"Office cleaning pays well? Where? How do I get into that? Send me a message with details! I am ready."

ME TOO! Where do I apply?

I have been a nurse for almost 8 yrs and a Independent Provider for 7yrs, when I first started I was still a new nurse and getting the extra money instead of benifits etc. was worth it back then, but now 8 yrs of experience being a nurse and my wage being cut to what I was making as a brand new Grad 8 yrs ago in a nursing home is a real problem for me,,, we have never been given a raise,oh wait thats right we were once 3% that was given and then taken away a year later,we get no benifits,no vacation pay,no retirement 401 K plan,no time in a half for holiday's, we have to be subjected to the self employment fee's,have to pay 100% of our Social security every year where with a company they pay 50% for you,,Im just wondering why they are doing this to us nurses, I hear they plan on cutting some more within time, and I dont doubt it, they are going to make it where Nurses are not going to be able to afford to be an Independent Provider and then what, what is gonna happent to these patients?! Our government keeps cutting from the most important jobs out there,police officers,social workers,nurses,teachers,,something needs to Change!

Specializes in Home Healthcare.

devin4329

"im just wondering why they are doing this to us nurses, i hear they plan on cutting some more within time, and i dont doubt it, they are going to make it where nurses are not going to be able to afford to be an independent provider and then what, what is gonna happent to these patients?! "

i believe, this was deliberately done to us independent provider nurses and the aides to get rid of us. i do not think when they created independent providers for the home care program, giving consumers the choice to choose an ip over an agency, they did not realize many consumers would choose ips. i have had several consumers tell me they would rather have a ip, but are experiencing difficulty finding one. a case manager will call an agency (s) for consumers, but will not even give them a list of ips in their area. many consumers are not even aware of the ip database on carestar or how to use it. just my opinion, but this medicaid home care waiver program has really changed the past few years since carestar has been involved and not for the good. sure carestar has saved the state money, but at what cost to consumers and nurses? the only winners in this outcome has been the agencies. consumers have been complaining about the frequent change in case managers. then you have some case managers who are making up their own rules as they go along, when it pertains to a ip nurse in the home.

have you ever heard of this new ohio home care program rule? is this a new rule or a fabrication by the case manager? a consumer is being discharged from the hospital, the carestar case manager tells the family and sw at the hospital, she will come out and open the case after discharge. then, she tells them that the ip nurse cannot start for 2 weeks after she-carestar case manager opens the case, but they can have agency in the home!!!!!!!!!

I have been a PDN/ Waiver IP for two years. I enjoy my patients and families to no end! I am very disheartened by the recent pay cut, and after reading posts out here, it does make you wonder.. are they just trying to get rid of IP? I have had so many agency nurses come to me, asking me how I have managed to keep getting cases and how they can join as an IP. My patients WANT IP. It doesnt mean that good agency nurses dont exist.. consumers like to choose. so many people are going to be left without a job, and our patients in the end suffer.

I am going to hang in as long as possible, and if I thought forming a coalition of nurses against kasich would help, I would surely rally on our behalf.

Its totally wrong to do this to nurses, or the other careers that are being targeted by various SB's.

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