10 Ways to Increase Revenue at a Substance Abuse Treatment Facility

Running any kind of medical office can be challenging.  Taking care of people’s lives, juggling regulatory compliance issues, getting insurance companies to pay, dealing with staff, etc. can all be far more complicated than the problems most other business owners deal with on a day-to-day basis.  Having recovering addicts as your clientele further compounds the stressors associated with your operation as they tend to be more unreliable, unstable and unmotivated than most other types of patients.

For as much as your patients and staff would like to think that you are running the facility to earn your place in heaven, we all know that it’s a business and it has to make money in order for it to remain operational and continue to help people.  The following strategies may or may not be practical in your operation.  Some you might have already implemented.  Hopefully I can suggest some other ideas that you haven’t thought of yet that may help.

1.    Dual Focus Programs

Very often, patients suffering from addiction have ancillary diagnoses that need to be addressed and also require treatment.  In some cases, one diagnosis can either cause or exacerbate the other diagnosis.  For example, if a patient is suffering from a mental health disorder, they may be inclined to self-medicate and become addicted to alcohol and/or other drugs.  Not only is treating both diagnoses together clinically sound, having such programs can position your facility to receive referrals from certain agencies specifically because they meet the needs of certain patients.

Conditions that can be appropriately packaged together with substance abuse treatment are as follows: 

•  Mental health disorders
• Neurological impairment
• Hearing impairment
• Eating disorders
• Offenders of domestic violence
• Victims of domestic violence
• Sex offenders
• Post-traumatic stress disorder 

2.    Special Interest Programs

As with the dual focus programs, other special programs can be designed to accommodate a particular type of patient.  Instead of addressing a primary or secondary diagnosis, the special interest could just be a certain classification, distinction or circumstance that differentiates one patient from the general population.  The following are examples of some possible special interest groups: 

• Language other than English
• Medical professionals 
• High-profile individuals
• Law enforcement professionals
•  Adolescents
• Gay/Lesbian
• DWI/DUI 

Unlike the dual focus programs, there’s no difference between treating these types of individuals and general population patients.  However, their classification or circumstance may warrant them to be segregated into different treatment groups as a more effective means of therapy.  For example, if a patient can’t speak English, placing them in a general substance abuse treatment program is pointless.  Medical professionals may have lost their license due to their addiction.  Undergoing treatment may be a prerequisite to reobtaining their licensure and certain reporting may be necessary.  High profile individuals may feel more comfortable if they are with similarly situated individuals, making their treatment more effective and their recovery more probable.  Law enforcement professionals may have a conflict of interest being integrated into the same programs with other individuals who they may have come in contact with during the course of their duties.  Adolescents may have an easier time relating to other patients their own age, rather than adult patients.  Gay or lesbian patients may feel more comfortable with other like-minded patients, making sobriety easier for them to achieve.

Recovering from addiction is challenging enough.  Removing certain obstacles from the equation gives the patient a better chance at achieving their treatment goals and focusing on the underlying causes of their addiction.  Having these special programs may attract more apprehensive patients and/or referrals, thus increasing your facility’s revenue.

3.    Sober Housing

Offering room and board to the homeless population is a service for which there is an overwhelming public need.  Many individuals who are homeless also have some type of underlying mental health diagnosis and/or substance abuse addiction.  Creating a program that is designed to accommodate this special needs population opens your facility up to an influx of referrals that will come from many sources.  The amount of homeless individuals in any region is staggering and whatever services that may be available are underutilized.  These are low functioning individuals who are unable to navigate their way through the system and need their hands held through the process.

The reimbursement for this type of room and board is usually obtainable through social service programs.  Even though the remuneration may not be particularly sizable, being able to channel this population through your treatment programs can be very profitable.

4.    Child Care

As you know, mothers can be addicts too.  However, not having suitable child care options can prevent a mother from participating in a treatment program.  Having a lower paid employee made available to tend to patients’ children can open the doors for certain female patients to attend.

5.    Plan Enrollment

Some patients may not be able to be treated at your facility because they are uninsured and cannot afford to pay themselves.  Having certain staff available to assist in the enrollment of Medicaid and other affordable health insurance programs could make the difference between your facility getting that patient or not.  You may be able to subcontract this function to third parties who receive payment by the plans themselves for providing enrollment services. 

6.    Provide Transportation

If you are treating the indigent population, some may not have the means in which to get to your facility.  They may not have a car or enough money to pay for public transportation.  This could be a very real factor for some individuals.  Purchasing or leasing a van could be a minimal expense in comparison to the revenue generated by the increased treatment sessions of patients that could not have otherwise attended without it.

7.    Donate Space to Self-Help Groups

Chances are, there is available space at your facility that is unused at certain points of the day or evening.  Allowing certain groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous to utilize this space for their regularly scheduled meetings could raise awareness of your facility to the very same demographic you market to and want as patients.  Even if a potential patient is aware of your location, being there for AA meetings might encourage them enough to inquire about your facility’s treatment programs. 

8.    Develop Qualified Service Agreements

Networking with other facilities and healthcare professionals that may provide different but yet related treatment services is important.  There may be mental health providers or medical facilities in your area that are not qualified or licensed to treat patients for substance abuse.  If they are able to identify an addiction or dependency diagnosis, they have a legal obligation to make an appropriate referral if they cannot provide treatment for that particular condition.

A QSA is a non-binding agreement that basically states, we’re here and you’re there.  We’ll referral patients to you when we come across individuals who require your services.  This type of agreement doesn’t require the facility to refer such patients to your facility.  However, it merely states that if a patient is in need of the type of treatment that you provide, your facility is on their list of possible agencies that they could refer to.  In some cases, it’s required to have these agreements in place, rather than a facility not having a well-defined plan as to where they can refer patients to if they lack the licensure or capability of treating them.

Seek out any health care facility or professionals who you think could come in contact with individuals suffering from addiction.  These could be emergency rooms, private practitioners, primary care physicians, mental health facilities, crisis centers, urgent care facilities, etc.  This is a good way to formalize a referral relationship.

9.    Offer Patient Incentives

Patients respond to positive actions too.  Some of your patients might genuinely want to get better but unfortunately, a large portion of the patients at your facility might only be there because they were forced by a law enforcement agency to undergo treatment as a provision of their parole or a condition of their probation.  Many substance abuse patients are unmotivated.  Part of this may be a treatment issue.  However, there may be ways of offering incentives for them to attend treatment.

For example, if you’re running an outpatient program, offer your patients a discount on their co-payment if they attend a certain number of consecutive treatment sessions.  If they don’t have a co-payment, offer them a gift certificate for a free cup of coffee or a small amount at a local fast food establishment.

No one has ever been hurt from a little incentive.  It may cost your facility a $5 copay ever few visits or a $5 gift card but this is less than you will be receiving from the insurance company to actually treat the patient.  Undergoing substance abuse treatment is a monumental task that is difficult for even the most tenacious of souls.  A little reward goes a long way.  Even if it’s not monetary.  If you think gift cards or monetary incentives are too tacky for your operation, think of another incentive that is more appropriate.  You’ll be surprised how this will increase attendance. 

10.  Renegotiate Your Contracts

Depending on how long it’s been since you initially entered into a contractual relationship with an insurance company or managed care company, you may want to consider contacting them to renegotiate higher reimbursement rates.  Even insurance companies understand the concept of cost-of-living increases and some of them may be willing to make incremental adjustments to your fee schedule.  Some companies may fight you on this but it doesn’t hurt to ask periodically.

For more information about increasing revenue at a substance abuse treatment facility, please call Ashlar Consulting Corporation at 305-849-9399 or visit www.AshlarConsultingCorp.com.