Tri-County Special Education Joint Agreement (TCSE) serves 20 member districts and over 2,100 IEP students. Long-time Embrace® customer, TCSE adopted EmbraceDS® nearly five years ago to enhance Medicaid billing compliance and increase reimbursement. “It's still pretty new for us, but we like it a lot,” says Renee Evans, Chief School Business Official at TCSE.
About TCSE:
IEP students: 2,129
70% of students have Medicaid
Member districts: 20
Buildings: 3
Location: IL
Since TCSE was using EmbraceIEP® long before adding EmbraceDS®, “we already had all of the data in the same system, so that eliminated a lot of data transfers from one [program] to the other,” says Renee.
“Also, we were able to eliminate one whole Medicaid position. All that person did was enter health aid minutes, so that ended up saving us like $40,000 in salary and benefits.”
Other benefits that TCSE experienced with EmbraceDS® software include:
- Time savings for staff: no need to manually transfer data between Medicaid billing and IEP programs
- Same-day responses from Embrace® Medicaid Success team
- Familiar interface and ease of use for staff
- Access to the reporting dashboard, providing a quick overview of any discrepancies or compliance issues
The Problem:
Unlike Embrace®, the previous vendor TCSE used for Medicaid billing did not offer IEP management software, preventing easy data flow between systems.
“The only drawback we had to the previous provider was, it didn't have the IEP component. So, we had to do the data transfers, and staff were also having to go between both systems – one to enter Medicaid billable minutes, and the other to look at the IEP. So, it [EmbraceDS®] ended up saving a lot of time for everybody,” says Renee.
Renee Evans
Chief School Business Official
“We were able to eliminate one whole Medicaid position that all the person did was enter health aid minutes, so that ended up saving us like $40,000 in salary and benefits.”
The Goal:
One of the key goals when looking for a new Medicaid biller for TCSE was to maximize their reimbursement while paying the most affordable rate for the software itself.
“Obviously, to maximize our Medicaid revenue is like number one for everybody. Number two would be to have a lower fee than what some of the other Medicaid billing software providers were requiring. Besides the fact that we were already using another component of Embrace®, the fact that they didn't charge as much as other billing providers, that was what got us to purchase the software,” explains Renee.
Renee Evans
Chief School Business Official
“We already had all of the data in the same system, so that eliminated a lot of data transfers from one [program] to the other.”
The Solution:
Money savings for the district
EmbraceDS® enabled TCSE health aides to enter their own billable minutes without having an extra person on staff doing it for them. This, in turn, allowed the district to save funds and engage health aides in the process more.
“The health aides now enter their own billable minutes, so it hasn't been a problem for them. We have over a hundred health aides. So, the fact that every single one of them are able to do it, is awesome, tremendous goal that we always had, that we were able to implement with EmbraceDS®,” says Renee.
Time savings for staff
Now that TCSE uses both EmbraceIEP® and EmbraceDS®, staff don’t have to do manual data transfers. Embrace® automates data exchange between programs, saving a lot of time.
Fast, responsive support
According to Renee, the staff has always been satisfied with the quality and speed of support provided by Embrace®. And the support they started getting on the Medicaid billing was not an exception.
“With Embrace®, we've always been able to quickly get a response back. And we really appreciate that,” says Renee. “I would say, 99% of the time we're able to get any issues we have or any questions we have [resolved], and to also get more educational guidance from Embrace within the day.”
Easy to use, familiar interface for staff
“A lot of our staff that tested the product, they definitely said it was easy to use since it was already used with the other components. Staff were familiar with it, and having it all in one [system], enabled them to easily input the minutes and therapy notes,” says Renee. “They definitely loved it for the ease of use and the fact that over 100 health aides are able to use it with no problems.”
Reporting dashboard that identifies missing consents and other discrepancies
According to Renee, one of the favorite features of the administrative staff is the dashboard, as it allows a quick overview of any missing data and helps quickly fix any issues.
“The admins love the user dashboard in EmbraceDS® where it shows the missing prescriptions, consents that aren't found in the cost pool. So, it enables the administrators to get what they need quickly, so it doesn't stop the Medicaid flow.”
When asked if she would recommend EmbraceDS® program to her colleagues, Renee said: “Oh, yes, I would definitely recommend EmbraceDS® just because of the support we receive, the ease of use of the program, and the cost itself is, you know, very competitive compared to other providers.”
“The health aides now enter their own billable minutes, so it hasn't been a problem for them. We have over a hundred health aides. So, the fact that every single one of them are able to do it, is awesome, tremendous goal that we always had, that we were able to implement with EmbraceDS®.”
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