Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
I actually LOVE the families on assistnace because I have a few simple rules for the familes receiving the assistance:
1. NO care until I have the actual contract agreement from the state IN HAND. (no exceptions)
2. ALL co-pays, late fees, and additional cost are to be PRE-PAID. No exceptions. No care the next day if you have a balance owed to me.
3. Anything the state does not cover is the parents problem to pay...they sign this agreement. If you have money due...you pay it up front or there is no care.
This works because where I live the assistance program works like this:
1. Parents get a pre-determined amount of hours per week so I know how many hours are covered by asistance.
2. The program pays a full day rate for any attendance over 5.5 hours per day.
3. Our billing vouchers are for two weeks at a time and turned in on Fridays and we are paid via direct deposit the following Tuesday at midnight.
4. If a parent lies or doesn't do whatever their personal contract says they need to do it is their problem NOT mine. Meaning I am paid for whatever I bill the state and if the state sees a problem with it or doesn't like what the parent did or the schedule parent set up the state goes after the parent for reimbursement NEVER me. I am not required to know where the parent goes or what they do..I don't have to even ask. I only have to record the number of hours or days the parent SCHEDULED with me, NOT the actual hours they were in attendance. The state also pays for the 10 federal holidays (IF I bill all families for them) and the state pays for 10 absent days per contracted period which is 6 months.
5. Also if a family up and quits and I get no 2-week notice, the state covers it.
6. If a family does leave owing me money...I call their worker and the family is not allowed to get assistance anywhere else until I am paid in full first.
This program has only worked this way for the last 3 years...before the state did a major overhaul of the program I had the same issues as everyone else and hated families on assistance because I was the only one who got the short end of the stick.
THIS is exactly what I was going to say regarding payments.