Jobs in Health Care Rising

President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisors released a report Monday surveying the parts of the labor force that are expected to grow most rapidly in the future.  The report is a reminder to everyone in the health care industry that it is one of the few industries still growing.

Specifically, professions in health care including home health care, outpatient care, and medical laboratory positions will add the most jobs. 

This is good news to our clients as well as to entrepreneurs looking to start their own healthcare-related business!

Click here to read the complete New York Times article: Job Growth in Health is Expected to be Strong

Obama Talks Health Care on ABC

As President Obama advocates for a health care system overhaul, many Americans are questioning how it will function as well as how the country will pay for it.  The Wall Street Journal’s Health Blog profiled Obama’s televised town hall meeting on ABC last week to try and explain his plans in more detail.

The President assured Americans that the government will not force them to switch doctors or health insurance plans.  Also, private companies will still be able to choose different plans for their employees on their own.  However, critics argue that given a cheaper government option, most businesses will jump ship from private insurance companies. 

Health insurance companies feel threatened by the proposal, stating that a government program would put them out of business.  Obama responded to these concerns by admitting he wasn’t sure a government plan would be included in his final proposal.

Additionally, Obama explained that the funding for his health care system would either come from lowering the amount that wealthy Americans can deduct on their taxes or from taxing health benefits. Regardless of how he accomplishes this, many wonder if Obama will be the first president to solve the problem of uninsured Americans.

Little is known right now about how President Obama’s healthcare reform will affect healthcare vendors like medical billing and coding companies and/or temporary nurse staffing agencies. They will have to wait patiently to see how the President’s changes will affect them.

To read the entire Wall Street Journal Blog article, click here: Separating Fact from Fiction on Health-Care Reform

To view a clip of the town hall meeting, click here: President Obama Defends Right to Choose Best Care

For a full transcript of the meeting, click here: Questions for the President: Prescription for America

Extinction of Small-Business Credit Moves Factoring into the Limelight

Because it’s become increasingly harder for businesses to obtain bank financing, there is a general misunderstanding that accounts receivable factoring firms are booming in today’s economy.  However, the decrease in bank lending has not led to an increase in factoring.  On the contrary, businesses tend to use factoring companies because they do not meet the general lending criteria (i.e. profitable operating history, meaningful collateral) that banks require in order to extend credit.. On the other hand, with the number of alternative credit and lending sources drying up, the factoring industry will soon see an increase in business.

 

According to the National Small Business Association, 59% of America’s small businesses depended on credit cards for their daily operations in April (up 15% from last year).  Although small business credit accounts for roughly 11% of the revenue for Visa and MasterCard, as reported by David Robertson of The Nilson Report, the credit card industry cannot afford to take risks with struggling companies.

 

As mentioned in a previous factoring blog post, New Credit Card Reform Law Excludes Small Business Cardholders, President Obama’s recent credit card reform plan does not include small business cards.  However, there has been a congressional push to extend the reforms to small businesses, which limit extreme fees and interest rate hikes, but it will be a stretch when considering the delinquency rate among small businesses recently exceeded 12% (2% higher than the consumer delinquency rate).

 

The recent small business credit card changes are quickly affecting business owners’ ability to operate.  According to an article from The New York Times entitled “A Credit Squeeze for Small-Business Owners”, Floridian Jeannie Macone, who owns a home décor business, saw her interest rate jump to over 30% as well as her credit limit plummet to a measly $5,000.

 

Even though small business credit card financing is becoming harder to obtain, there is still one viable funding option available to small business owners trying to grow– Factoring.  Instead of waiting weeks or months to be paid by their customers, medical staffing and medical billing start-up companies could sell their receivables to a factoring firm and receive cash immediately.

 

What’s more, since banks are decreasing credit lines and raising the interest rates for small business credit cards, they will be looking for a new way to finance their business. So keep in mind that factoring brokers and cash flow consultants have an excellent opportunity right now to find new business and earn factoring commissions.  

 

 

 

 

 

Cash Flow Concerns Rise as Confidence Levels on Economy Fall

The Discover Small Business Watch’s monthly index is confirming the general population’s dwindling confidence in the economy.  The index, which began surveying randomly selected small businesses in August 2006, fell more than 10 points in May to 78.1.  The survey poses six questions to small business owners and includes whether or not the owner plans to decrease spending on development and if the owner believes the economy is worsening. 

Ryan Scully, director of the Discover business credit card, explains that he, “…saw cash flow problems jump this month to their highest level in two and a half years, which is certainly not going to boost the optimism of a small-business owner, especially in this economic climate.”

In May, about half of small business owners surveyed have had short-term cash flow problems in the past 90 days (up from 40% from April) and another 53% say they have plans to reduce spending on business development over the next six months (up from 46% in April). 

Click here to read the entire article: Business Owners Report Cash Flow Concerns

For Profit Hospitals Doing Better in Bad Economy

Some interesting statistics were announced at last week at the annual South Florida Summit. Caroline Rossi Steinber, a trends specialist with the American Hospital Association (AHA), shared the following information with attendees:

90% of surveyed hospitals have made cutbacks as a result of the tough economic times, with the biggest cuts in administrative expenses.

43% of surveyed hospitals had a negative net return for the first quarter, which was 17% higher than the same time last year

65% of hospitals reported that they witnessesed an increase in the number of physicians seeking employment

In addition, according to Darren P. Lehrich, Deutsche Bank’s managing director of healthcare providers research, for profit hospitals’ stocks have increased 70% in the past three months. Moreoever, the profit margins for publicly traded hospitals during the quarter were the highest they’ve been in a number of years.

A big concern for hospitals across the U.S. is how the concept of public health insurance will be interpreted and enforced in the future.

The AHA’s studies show that most hospitals are relying on current government payers like Medicare and Medicaid, whose combined brings in 56% of the revenue, while private insurance accounts for 43% of revenue.

Steinberg noted that providers depend heavily on private insurance providers to pay the bills because Medicaid only reimburses 90% of their costs and private insurance generally reimburses 130%. If the public health insurance is specified as a health insurance option for the uninsured, it would help hospitals immensely by reducing the uncompensated care. On the other hand, if public health insurance is used as a “cheap public plan open to everybody an reimbursed providers at low rates,” it would be devastating to the hospital industry.

Click here to read more details: Hospitals cutting back.

SBA Reports Uptick in Business Credit Card Use

According to a new analysis released by the Small Business Association (SBA), the nation’s largest lenders have been decreasing their small business loans, and at the same time, they have  been increasing their credit-card lending.

An article on BusinessWeek.com reported that “the total value of small business loans outstanding increased 4%, to $711 billion in the 12 months ending in June 2008. That’s half the growth in small business credit than the SBA reported the year before.”

Some say the rise in small business credit card use may reflect a “changing demand for small business credit.” Many of the small businesses (internet companies and home-based businesses) in operation today simply don’t need a larger line of credit because they don’t have a lot of physical assets.

Click here to read the entire article: The SBA Sees a Lending Shift.

Entrepreneurs Notice Credit Lines Disappearing, Should Turn to Factoring

BusinessWeek.com recently published an article that put JPMorgan Chase bank in the spotlight, as the bank started reducing or eliminating credit lines  for a large number of small business owners to help even out its balance sheets.

According to the article, in most cases, “If business owners can’t convince Chase of their creditworthiness, they have three options: 1) pay off the balance in full; 2) agree to a conversion of the line of credit into a term loan; or 3) go into default.”

One business owner interviewed for the article described how his four lines of credit were reduced to two on the exact same day that he received a letter from Chase that the bank was blocking him from drawing on two lines of credit due to “an adverse change in his ‘financial condition and/or credit history.'” The entrepreneur had been drawing on all four of the lines to help meet his monthly payroll, and he’s not sure where the money will come from if he’s not able to reistate the two lines.

As banks continue to reduce and eliminate credit lines, there will continue to be an influx of established healthcare business owners who are in this same situation. Lucky for them, there is an immediate answer to their cash flow problems.

Home care agencies who need additional funding to pay their sitters and companions, medical transcription service owners who are waiting a long time for hospitals to pay, and medical coding companies who are looking to expand can and should take advantage of healthcare accounts receivable factoring programs to help them at a time when more traditional funding avenues are failing them.

Click here to read the entire article: Snipping Credit Lines for Small Businesses.

Small Business Owners Report Cash Flow Concerns

According to the Monthly Small Business Watch, a report that measures economic confidence by randomly selecting 750 small business owners and asking them to respond to six questions, 50% of small business owners have experienced temporary cash flow issues in the past 90 days. In addition, 53% of the surveyed business owners reported that they will decrease spending on business development in the next six months.

Now, more than ever, is a prime time for cash flow consultants and factoring brokers to reach out to those small business owners and pair them with the appropriate funding source. As many of The Factoring Blog’s readers know, PRN Funding is a great option for medical staffing factoring, medical transcription factoring, medical coding factoring and home care factoring.

Click here to read more current small business cash flow statistics.

Factoring Makes List of 101 Ways to Save Money

Jill Amadio, Jacquelyn Lynn, Ivan R. Misner, Chris Penttila, Guen Sublette and Laura Tiffany of Entrepreneur.com came recently contributed to a very important document for business owners: 101 Ways to Save Money in Your Business.

Compiled to advise business owners and entrepreneurs on how to save money in a penny-pinching economy, the accounts receivable factoring specialists at PRN Funding found #86 particularly helpful:

“Consider the factors. Factors–companies that essentially buy and then liquidate a company’s accounts receivable–provide an option to tied-up money.”

Refer a factoring deal to PRN, Get a FREE $25 Starbucks card!

Did you hear?? Starting today, PRN Funding will mail out $25 Starbucks gift cards to the next 20 brokers/cash flow consultants who contact us with a new factoring prospect!

All you have to do is contact me when you have a qualified prospect*, and we’ll do the rest. The best part is, you get the $25 Starbucks gift card even if we DON’T close the deal!

Remember that PRN Funding provides factoring exclusively to vendors who sell to medical facilities. Examples of the industries we factor include:

Healthcare Staffing Agency Factoring
Medical Transcription Factoring
Non-Medicare Home Care Factoring
Medical Coding Factoring
Medical Billing Factoring

Take the first step and email me (nflores@prnfunding.com) your current mailing address so that I know exactly where to send the Starbucks card when you refer a deal.

Thanks!
Nikki Flores

*NOTE: Upon evaluation and approval that the following criteria have been met for a referral, PRN Funding will mail out a $25 Starbucks gift card directly to the referrer:

1. The prospect must be an organized entity (Corporation, LLC). Sole proprietorships, general partnerships and DBA’s do not qualify for this promotion.

2. Broker/cash flow consultant must, at minimum, informally introduce PRN Funding, LLC to the prospect. In other words, PRN Funding will not make any cold calls as part of this promotion.

3. The prospect must have a legitimate need and interest in accounts receivable factoring.

4. PRN Funding must receive a completed application and accounts receivable aging report from the prospect.

Older Posts
Newer Posts