OnShift Introduces Predictive Analytics to Support Affordable Care Act Requirements

CLEVELAND, OH--(Marketwired - Jun 24, 2013) - OnShift, the leader in staff scheduling and labor management software for long-term care and senior living, today announced a new release with support for Affordable Care Act requirements. The new predictive analytics and proactive capabilities help providers manage part-time and full-time employee hours to comply with their policies in support of the Affordable Care Act, avoiding additional costs and unplanned penalties.

News Facts

• The new OnShift release:
  • Indicates employees who are designated part-time or full-time when creating and managing schedules
  • Predicts, tracks and alerts schedulers of potential part-time work-hour overages before an employee is assigned a shift, so the overage can be avoided
  • Enhances open shift management with visibility into part-time employees and hours worked, so overages can be avoided when selecting the best fit replacement
  • Reports employees over part-time work-hour thresholds so appropriate adjustments can be made.
• With the new release, schedulers gain the ability to make informed decisions with real-time visibility into part-time vs. full-time employee hours and status during scheduling. This allows providers to modify schedules in advance to control hours and costs according to their ACA policies.
• OnShift's new features that support Affordable Care Act requirements extend the foundational capabilities of OnShift that predict and prevent staffing issues and facilitate proper staffing to ensure quality care and services.
• Without a labor management system like OnShift, providers lack an understanding of which employees are considered part-time or full-time during scheduling and whether their work hours are consistent with that status. As a result, they have no ability to prevent part-time employees from inadvertently crossing into full-time status, which can lead to costly unplanned penalties and additional coverage requirements.

About The Affordable Care Act
Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), employers with 50 or more full-time equivalent employees must provide qualified health coverage to full-time workers or face a penalty. The ACA defines a full-time worker as one who works a minimum of 30 hours/week or 130 hours/month on average.

Supporting Quotes
"Giving schedulers easy-to-use tools to help manage part-time employee hours at the point of assigning shifts will be tremendously helpful," stated Jennifer Currie, Vice President of Benefits, Senior Living Communities. "The new features in OnShift will enhance the controls and audit processes we already have in place to align our employees with our part-time and full-time goals. We will be able to easily look ahead with OnShift and tweak thresholds and hours so we can stay on track with our ACA policies."

"2013 is a vital year in determining employer strategies and what they need to implement under the Affordable Care Act employer mandate. How providers manage their employee mix and hours is critical in moving forward under healthcare reform," stated Janet Feldkamp, Partner, Co-chair, Health Care Practice Group, Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff, LLP. "The changes, potential costs, and consequences are significant. My advice is to take action now -- don't get caught unprepared."

"Schedulers know in their heads who's part-time, but extra hours can easily slip through the cracks. The ramifications are higher with the Affordable Care Act, and a manual, spreadsheet or paper-based approach just won't cut it," stated Mark Woodka, CEO, OnShift. "The only way to truly stay on top of managing part-time workers and their hours is with automated, predictive capabilities that empower providers to comply with their ACA policies. OnShift's new features will help providers meet their workforce standards while driving efficiencies and managing costs so they can stay focused on their number one objective -- delivering quality care to patients and residents."

Supporting Research
The impact of the health coverage mandate under the Affordable Care Act is far reaching:

• There are currently 27.7 million part-time workers in the United States¹.
• 13.7% of employees in healthcare work 30-36 hours/week. According to research by UC Berkeley Labor Center, nursing homes are among employers with the highest percentage workers who are most vulnerable to work reduction², which would create a larger part-time workforce.
• 60% of employers expect some increase in cost due to key provisions in the ACA that go into effect in 2014³.

Additional Resources
Resources on Workforce Strategies & The ACA
Additional OnShift Product Information

About OnShift, Inc.
Long-term care and senior living providers rely on OnShift staff scheduling and labor management software to control labor costs and increase efficiencies so nurses have more time for care. OnShift predicts and prevents overtime and understaffing while dramatically reducing time spent on scheduling and managing open shifts. Fully integrated with time-keeping, HR, clinical and payroll systems, OnShift provides a unified view into staffing levels and labor costs across buildings. Customers choose OnShift because it's the easiest-to-use scheduling solution with a tightly integrated communications platform, delivering fast ROI. For more information visit www.onshift.com.

¹ Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2013.

² UC Berkeley Labor Center, Which workers are most at risk of reduced work hours under The Affordable Care Act?, February 2013.

³ Mercer, Health Reform Poses Biggest Challenges to Companies with the Most Part-Time and Low-Paid Employees, August 2012.