Expenditures in the United States on health care surpassed $2 trillion in 2006, almost three times the $714 billion spent in 1990, and over eight times the $253 billion spent in 1980. In 2006, U.S. health care spending was about $7,026 per resident and accounted for 16% of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). As a care provider, we need to ask ourselves: what is our responsibility in controlling the cost of care? and what do we do to make our business more efficient and higher quality, and consequently more cost-effective?
Successful care home and daycare owners know that profit is not what a company “makes”, but what it “keeps”. There are three types of care facility owners:
- Service-oriented owners. They build luxury model care facilities. They want the best for their facilities and their clients. They may have a very high occupancy rate and charge high service fees, but still lose money because of their high operating costs.
- Cost-sensitive owners. They control their budget tightly. They cutback on their employees' salaries, buy cheap food for their residents/participants, buy low quality décor, furniture and equipment for their facilities, and postpone overdue maintenance. Eventually, they either get cited by licensing or find their employees or their clients in their competitor’s facility.
- Value-driven owners. They strive to provide the best value of care at a relatively low cost. You want to be one of them. How? Be a smart shopper. Buy on sale, buy in large quantities, and buy online.
Start forming a recession-proof saving habit. CareHomesUSA Online Store is a good place to start, but we also offer care providers many more resources,comparisons and reviews on online shopping in this section.
