In Part I of the question of whether the grass is really greener on the other side, we asked whether the grass is really greener with in house therapy. In Part II we want to look at whether the grass is greener with a contract therapy company.

Our company recently completed an RFP project for contract therapy services for a client.

The phrase “is the grass really greener on the other side” is generally used to imply that things are not necessarily better on the other side. However, there are times when the “other side” may be better. The challenge is determining when the other side might be better, or are things on your side best for you.

In the world of skilled nursing this concept has been on the minds of many operators when looking at moving from a contract therapy relationship to an in house model. The shift to the Patient Driven Payment Model (PDPM) meant that therapy minutes would no longer be a primary driver of Medicare A reimbursement. The belief was this would lead to fewer minutes being delivered which in turn meant that it might be more cost effective to have an in house therapy program.