How can we find out more about House Bill 49 and other legislative decisions?

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1 Corporate Update Days Follow Up Communication FINAL May 24, 2017 Following our first bi-annual Corporate Update Days meeting (formerly known as Ed Days ), we wanted to follow up on questions and comments submitted by those attending that were not addressed during the presentations or Q&A sessions. After reading the below responses, if you have additional questions, based on the topic, please reach out to the following: Leadership/Legislative Updates Pamela E. Zipperer-Davis Program Updates Sharon D. Higgins Financial Updates Joe M. Kolks IT Updates Steve D. Forrester HR Update Adam L. Phelps How can we find out more about House Bill 49 and other legislative decisions? House Bill (HB) 49 can be Googled for more information. However, we will provide some information here. HB49 has a great deal of legislative changes in it, some of which apply to CareStar and some of which do not. The portion that applies to CareStar is long-term support services (LTSS) moving to managed longterm support services (MLTSS). This would mean that instead of the Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM) managing the LTSS population and contracting with case management companies such as CareStar, the managed care plans awarded the contract would be responsible for providing the assessment services, service plan development, independent entity review, case management function and appeal function. The managed care plans would be responsible for the MLTSS program should HB49 be approved. CareStar has taken the position that LTSS should not move into managed care yet. Given the rocky transition of the MyCare and SRS Programs into managed care, we do not believe the state is ready to move LTSS into MLTSS. The MyCare demonstration project is five years in length, and we are only twoand-a-half years into the five-year timeframe. There have been many transition issues and those are still being worked on, as well as the issues with the SRS transition. Dr. Dan Barnes, CareStar s Medical Director, and Pamela, our President, testified on April 5, 2017 in front of the House Finance Committee and on May 17, 2017 before the Senate Finance, Health and Medicaid Subcommittee. We continue to work with the legislators on this bill. It is our first hope and desire that the MLTSS language be stricken from the bill. Our second position, if striking the language is not achieved, would be that a study group be formed and the transition of LTSS to MLTSS be delayed until at least 2021 with a comprehensive implementation plan developed before then. We will certainly keep the leadership informed of our progress and ask that they keep everyone informed throughout the state. Thank you for your interest in this topic and for your ongoing support.

2 Program Updates During Corporate Update Days, we shared with you that some of the programs within our organization were approaching their contract end date. At the time, we advised that program continuation or contract renewal for many programs was anticipated, but not yet confirmed. I am happy to present below an update for several of these programs. Ohio Home Care (OHC) program - Contract has been renewed through June 30, DODD Options Counseling Contract has been renewed through June 30, MCO Assessments Buckeye assessment referrals continue; additional work received with more referrals pending. SRS program additional cases have been assigned to CareStar. We have been advised by ODM that we will receive approximately 2400 referrals from a new population titled Diagnosed Chronic Condition (DCC) that is to be enrolled into this program beginning in July. Kentucky DD program We continue to make progress through the application process with an expectation of being an approved Case Management provider within the next few months. We fully expect that other positive updates are forthcoming. Please remain focused on delivering high quality work within program required timelines and innovation to make tomorrow better for everybody and ensure our leading position in the market! We remain encouraged that our CareSTAR is shining and our future is bright! Opportunity to Purchase Desktop Computers After Laptops are Provided? Community involvement is an important aspect of the work performed at CareStar and a driving force in our reputation. How we dispose of the older computers following their replacement has been a great way for the company to further impact our local communities through donation to organizations who provide computer repair training and other educational services. As we continue replacing equipment, we will continue to find worthy organizations to donate to, instead of allowing employees to purchase the computers for a fee. We have a company relationship with Dell that will provide employees a deep discount when purchasing a computer and other Dell products. You can access these discounts utilizing the dell.com/mpp/carestar web address. In addition to Dell, you can find discounts on other brands, like Apple, HP and Lenovo, by visiting the LifeMart website through your ADP employee portal. The path to access this site through ADP is: ADP -> Myself -> Benefits -> Employee Discounts-LifeMart You may be able to find some good deals as part of Memorial Day sales!

3 Is there a change in dress code? If so, when, what will it look like? Dress down Friday s? Is there a problem with the current dress policy? On April 3, 2017, an was sent to all staff reminding them of the professional standards CareStar possesses and how a person s dress reflects this with the individuals we serve and the coworkers/agencies with which we interact. At that time, we indicated there would be changes to the dress code as part of the revision to the employee handbook and stand-alone policies. These changes are in process and being made in conjunction with CareStar s application for HITRUST certification, which Steve Forrester described during his presentation, because the policies/procedures and our qualifications for this certification are very tightly linked. The HITRUST application process will extend into the mid to late July timeframe, which may involve further policy revisions. Therefore, these policies will not be implemented completely until approximately that time to eliminate any rework required from the HITRUST application process. Until then, the previous policy describing appropriate business casual attire will apply. Jeans, denim tops, tee-shirts, athletic shoes, etc. are not appropriate for the office given the opportunity for agency visitors at any time. Why were pay changes implemented? The ongoing health of the business is critically important to all employees for many reasons, not the least of which relates to each individual s feelings of job security and ownership of the company through the ESOP. During the Corporate Update Days Financial Update, Joe Kolks described the operating margins CareStar currently experiences, with much of the expense encompassed in employee pay and benefits. Because of these realities, as well as the need to ensure CareStar is competitive in the market, the company partnered with a compensation analysis and reporting firm to help CareStar identify wage ranges for each position. This partnership allows the company to analyze how each employee s salary compares to others in the market who possess similar job responsibilities, education, years of experience, home and work geography, etc. The outcome of this analysis ensures employees are paid competitively to their peers in the market to drive attraction to our open positions and longer term retention. However, as a wage range implies, there are upper and lower limits to how much an employer can pay for a particular job to balance attraction, retention and profitable revenue. Through this analysis, it was clear some employees salaries far exceeded that upper limit and the overall health of the business suffered because the revenue generated for the work could not support the overall expenses paid to complete the work. Therefore, the decision was made to freeze or adjust salaries for employees whose salaries exceeded the range maximum. Can I spend time on my work computer on e-learning? Continuing education is important to employee growth, business growth, and continuous improvement. Some of this education is provided through the company s CareStar Learning platform or other online sources. If the training module is assigned through CareStar Learning, assigned by your supervisor as a job requirement or is approved by your supervisor as job related, it is acceptable to utilize your company

4 issued equipment to complete this training. If the training does not meet one of these criteria, your company issued equipment should not be utilized. It is also important to note that when training or other continuing education events are assigned as a job requirement, it does not eliminate or replace other requirements of an employee s position. Therefore, organization, time management and planning are critical to ensure the attention and care provided the individuals CareStar serves is enhanced by the training received, not compromised. Employee Evaluation System We received a comment in the survey from Corporate Update Days expressing displeasure with the company s lack of transparency and openness regarding the changes to the performance evaluation process. So, we wanted to take a minute to address this concern. There were three major changes to the evaluation process: Form Design, Review Cycle Timing and Rating System Criteria. First, the performance management process is designed to measure how each employee is contributing to the success of the organization in their individual role. This is completed by evaluating position specific responsibilities, the competencies critical to completing these responsibilities and finally, goals established to improve your capabilities for the future. The format and arrangement of these items have changed; however, the underlying concept remained the same. Second, the timing of the process was modified to align all employee evaluations. There are a few advantages to this approach: It helps align employee responsibilities with the fiscal cadence of the business. It helps managers evaluate metric performance consistently across employee groups. It improves comparisons between employees in the same department/function, which helps drive a pay for performance culture. It is more efficient to execute because all employees are completing it at the same time, rather than sporadically through the year. Finally, the rating system and criteria were modified from a five-point scale to a four-point scale and definitions were created for each of the four points. These changes were designed to help drive better, more measurable, performance outcomes across the whole organization, as well as better understanding for each level of performance. In previous reviews, the company experienced rating inflation with many employees receiving top of the scale ratings despite the programs they work in being out of compliance to the program requirements. Feedback managers and employees received in their ratings and comments should have reset and raised the expectations for each individual s performance moving forward. As CareStar attempts to maintain its competitive position, explore new business opportunities and grow, critically and objectively evaluating our current performance and the vigor with which we drive for innovation and improvements will dictate our future success.

5 Conclusion Thank you all very much for your questions and feedback from the Corporate Update Days meeting. As we begin preparing for the next meeting, your feedback will help target pertinent, but less understood topics for the business and help improve how the material is presented. We very much appreciate all your efforts in making CareStar a market leader in Home and Community- Based Services and having a positive impact on the individuals we serve. Have a great rest of the week, and a great Memorial Day! Take a few minutes to remember and thank the many veterans who have served our country!