AMED
#All is a part of that but I will let <UNK> answer that piece first.
I think in general what we are seeing is as Medicare, as MA Medicare Advantage gets an increasing piece of the piewe see and we are from that business and embrace that business, we see a lot of opportunity there.
We think it is going to continue to grow and to continue to gain market share and therefore we are enthusiastically tweaking our care delivery model so that we can participate and make money by joining with our partners, our MA partners.
Thanks.
So we're looking at all options.
We have to attain the right balance and our M&A efforts are really digging in now.
We want to be pro active from an M&A perspective.
So we have some very good folks in the field starting conversations in key areas for us.
We are optimistic there, but we're also going to be very sensitive about evaluations and our ability to do accretive deals.
So we have to look at all our options in terms of how to employ our capital.
Good growth.
It's all over the place.
<UNK>, do you want to ---+ we have <UNK> on here.
He's our chief strategy officer.
Yes.
I think a rule of thumb is the larger they are the more expensive they are at this point.
The more private equity or venture money in there the more expensive they are.
Hence our strategy is to define geographies where we want to be and then to pro actively start knocking on door and we've done that.
Yes, okay.
So smaller deals, are they (inaudible) EBITDA or more.
Just curious.
That's a great question.
I think there will be people, and you've already seen examples out there.
I think some successful still to be determined of people that are trying to be intermediaries in this space I think to varying degrees of success.
Fundamentally, they are pushing price, and what they're doing is they're piecing things together and trying to wrestle price out, take therapies and then try to sell them as bundles and then say overall you'll get better care coordination at hopefully a cheaper price.
The thing that worries me about these companies, frankly, is they have imperfect information and therefore unless you have the entire continuum of information it's really hard to do pricing and then manage things in bundles effectively.
So I think that's a first stage of what we we're going to see in the post acute piece.
If somebody can get all of the information, use that information and drive costs down with the varying people that have to participate and then sell that effectively to the buyers, fundamentally manage care, I think that's ---+ but we have yet to see it.
I think the other pieces will be ---+ is people like us who will focus on care in the home.
I think That's going to be an increasing piece of the post acute Bundle.
I think we will start to get smart and smarter in partnering with our dme friends out there.
I think we'll get more partner-oriented to work with some of the facilities that are out there.
We already do that in hospice.
So I think if general we will start to be partners, but I think buying physical assets to me does make a lot of sense.
The idea is to continue to find effective technologies that are out there effective ways to grow, keeping people in their homes which is the most effective from an outcomes perspective and it's the most economically to keep people in their homes.
I think if we become the experts at that, we'll do very, very well.
And we'll be partners with everybody in the post acute space.
I mean we're ---+ we always get interesting proposals.
We seen a lot from the MA plans.
The larger ones are clearly very innovative and want to ---+ want us to participate.
Particularly, once again, I think, guaranteeing and trying to come close to that readmissions.
They pick heavily on readmissions.
They pick heavily on outcomes.
They pick heavily on ---+ as they are becoming more consumer oriented.
How do their members rate us from that perspective.
How do their members ---+ does this help their satisfaction and hence their retention.
So I think That's very important.
So I think those are the ways that they are choosing.
I think the ACOs are the larger people that are out there, the ACL bundlers and the ACL risk takers.
We've seen a lot of interest from those folks and then ACOs who are trying to build out the capacities and reaching for partnerships.
Is it driving a huge portion of our business yet.
Absolutely not.
Sure.
So we either reduced or sold, reduced or consolidated 50.
That's a very good question, <UNK>, and I'm going to talk to you about it.
The name as we ---+ did you hear the introduction when we were announced.
Okay.
I think it was called Amedysis.
We constantly get that.
So I came in with a very strong opinion.
When I proudly was telling everyone I was joining Amedisys, they came back with about a hundred variations on how you pronounce it.
So it's a tough name for a lot of folks.
I also don't think it reflects very well what we do.
I mean we take care of the most vulnerable people in their home and we pride ourselves on that.
I think a medical system which is where it oriented from the name, doesn't reflect that.
So we are outlooking at it.
The reserve I have on the name honestly is in some places it's very strong.
You'll go to doctors' offices and you'll go to where we have been a long time in Georgia, for example, and they'll know us, they'll say it, they put us at the top of the list.
And I guess my opinion there is why mess with success.
You go into other parts where we're less well known and people struggle with it.
So we are taking a look at it because I think it doesn't ---+ I do think the name doesn't reflect the fact that we do take care of people.
We're a care organization.
And we're largely ---+ 85% of our population is women which we're all very proud of and caregivers.
So I think as we're going through this and starting to look at this, we'll come to some decisions about this and we are certainly going to vet it in the markets and see what we ought to be doing.
That's a long answer.
The corporate ties to Baton Rouge, we're delighted with our employees here at Baton Rouge.
I've been very happy since I have come here.
We are looking at places where we can draw talent, where we can bring talent to Baton Rouge.
Some as we are constantly on the lookout for talent in terms of managed care and bundling certain types of IT, human resources.
We are trying to be a 21st century company and are open to locations in other places.
But I do want to say that the people here would do what they do, do a great job at it.
I hope the revenue recovery for example and I just talked to these folks yesterday about it.
They do a fantastic job.
And where we do great work, we're going to keep doing great work.
So that's our thought there.
Some of them ---+ everybody is fulltime now.
And they're coming down here but we are looking at very satellite places where our business is closer.
As you see when I want our people in the middle of our businesses and that's the most important thing.
As you've heard, I've spent a lot of time out there.
Our COO instead of being around the table with us, Dan McCoy is out there.
We're out there all the time.
I think it's important that we're close to the business.
And so whatever keeps our executive out close to the business, that's what's more important.
Thank you, <UNK>.
I believe there's about - we believe there's more margin as we talk about.
And I think we need to be in leading in that area.
On the revenue growth side, what we're looking at now is capacity.
So I think we believe that as we increase the efficiency of our caregiving operations and do more standardization, have the IT be additive, we believe that we can drive much more productivity.
So we believe there's inherent quite a bit of volume growth there.
So I think this year, we should start to see some of that and certainly next year, we're starting to push the idea that we need to really start to grow way above the rates we're doing now.
I think we said our ambition was two to three years on at least half of that and so call that our ambitious piece.
I think from the IT piece, we're looking at 17 ---+ end of 17 to extract that out so I think that 2 points there.
And then as we're moving into some of the other areas, care standardization, staffing optimization, capacity frame ---+ I think we could improve on our coding ---+ all those things, we're moving on that very quickly.
So I put two to three years out there.
I think the team heard it and you probably did.
And I think it's important that we deliver on that within that timeframe.
I think having a stable partnership ---+ when I talk to my Humana friends and my other payer friends out there that I know, yes, I mean, they are very interested in the stable good relationship with somebody who can drive here and the home and reduce hospital readmissions.
They're all over it.
And so I think the question is, how do we ---+ it's how do we ---+ we need to start to have some of those conversations.
We need to obviously be in the markets whether at and then we need to understand what sort of standard we have to live up to.
And then put our money where our mouth is on this.
There is a lot of interest.
I would like to be on that spot as you're seeing there's a lot of managed care people who understand this.
We're comfortable with taking risks.
And obviously with the growth of that in May, the world is moving towards that as a way of cost containment and as a way of attracting customers.
So I think it's better to lead than to follow in this pace.
Sure.
Thank you.
We all ---+ we have plan for proceeds of activities ---+ nothing really big so emerging, yes, in a significant way but we'll sort of tell we plan forth and anticipate some of our activities kickoff.
We have ---+ I'll start with your last question first.
Although we have this close to medium length of stay but two are the discharge length of stay say, down.
There's nothing really again that we would point to.
I think the activity, the additional admits and so forth - that's why part of what I'm seeing census grow more quite frankly than we have.
It's we're gaining patients so on but short length of stay so it's bringing the average down.
But no particular diagnosis that we would point to at this time that is really driving that.
Thanks, <UNK>.
We appreciate it.
Okay.
I want to thank everybody.
Thank you, Operator, and thanks everyone who joined us on our call today.
We sincerely appreciate your interest and I'll get this right, Amedisys.
And we look forward to updating you on our visits and on our next quarterly earnings call.
Thanks again.
Take care.
