Ability360 is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit corporation. Through its comprehensive programs which include Home Care Services, Ability360 touches the lives of individuals with disabilities and addresses the disability concerns of their family members, co-workers, and employers. Ability360 is located in Arizona and has more than 130 staff members, more than 1,400 personal care attendants, and many volunteers.
The Ability360 team was using many different systems to manage the day-to-day operations of their busy and growing agency. Case management, billing, payroll, and Electronic Visit Verification (EVV) all were run out of different systems and none of them were integrated with the others. Managing tasks between systems was manual, time-consuming, and inefficient. When the team was suddenly unable to access critical reports needed to conduct the monthly eligibility checks they required to stay in compliance, and was left with a manual review process, the team knew they needed to make a change and find a solution that could meet all their operating needs in one system and help them become more efficient.
After evaluating many solutions, Ability360 chose to implement HHAeXchange to streamline their operations, boost homecare efficiency, and manage every part of their agency within a single, integrated platform.
“When we spoke with other companies, it seemed like they were learning the Arizona compliance requirements and regulations alongside us,” said Chelsea Garcia, Director of Business Operations at Ability 360. “What set HHAeXchange apart, is they were already experts in our state’s requirements and regulations and could help prepare us and give us guidance on what we needed to be doing to keep our agency in compliance and do so efficiently.”
Having successfully completed well over 2,500 provider implementations of the HHAeXchange Enterprise platform, the HHAeXchange Implementation team has developed a proven process to provide a fast and successful onboarding experience designed to meet the unique needs of homecare agencies. A key element to the onboarding experience is the team of subject matter experts assigned to a client’s project to deliver specialized guidance in the areas most important to operating an agency. Ability360 was matched with an HHAeXchange Implementation team including a project manager, fiscal analyst, payroll analyst, and data analyst–all dedicated to increasing the homecare agency’s efficiency.
“The whole implementation process was a really great experience,” said Penny Fore, Vice President of Home Care Services at Ability360. “It was very apparent that the HHAeXchange staff had the expertise and knowledge to help us. For comparison, our last implementation with a different company, we had one dedicated person, and it took two years to implement. HHAeXchange accomplished go-live in six months and had a project team of several subject matter experts that supported us.”
“The implementation team at HHAeXchange really made us feel supported, guided, and set our minds at ease – it was really a great experience,” said Garcia. “The level of expertise that each person brought to the table was so reassuring and so helpful.”
Not only has HHAeXchange saved staff time, but it has also reduced staff frustrations. In addition to a successful implementation and exceptional onboarding experience, Ability360 has also been able to completely transform and streamline their operational processes. Ability360 has seen significant improvements in everything from billing and claims, to automating key tasks like the required eligibility checks, and gaining data insights that makes it easy for staff to spot issues and make fast corrections before they become big problems.
“Having HHAeXchange do these things automatically for us is just amazing,” said Fore. “Now we look back and the amount of work that we put into doing all of those tasks before was tremendous. HHAeXchange has made a huge difference to our staff.”
HHAeXchange’s implementation program is also delivering Ability360 tangible results. Ability360 reports that they have been able to eliminate the manual aspects of their billing entry, reduce the amount of time needed for billing and claim review by 50%, and have completely eliminated rejected claims. The gains have translated to $500,000 cost savings in the first year since implementation – a number they expect to continue to grow.
“We have eliminated a total cost of $400,000 so far and are forecasting another cost savings of $100,000 before the end of the year,” said Garcia. “This is a total cost savings of half a million dollars within the first year of implementation. It won’t end here – we are looking at integrating with payroll, recruiting, and onboarding programs within HHAeXchange’s Partner Connect program, so we anticipate more savings down the road.”
“As a nonprofit, we do tend to run very lean, so the savings we experience can go back into our other programs to support our mission,” said Fore.
In the end, implementing HHAeXchange has helped transform Ability360’s operations and delivered impressive results in the first year – and it looks like that is just the beginning of their successes.