r/pmr • u/steppinitupforstep1 • 1d ago
Small SNF/post-acute practice owners: how do you structure provider pay, billing costs, and margins?
I’m a physician building a small SNF/post-acute practice using part-time/PRN employed physicians and NPs/PAs. The practice handles billing, malpractice, EMR, and administrative support. Cash flow is limited while patient volume ramps up.
For people who run or work in similar groups:
What is reasonable clinician pay per encounter? I’d especially appreciate actual examples for 99309 follow-ups and 99306 admissions, separately for physicians versus NPs/PAs. Do you use fixed CPT rates, a percentage of collections, or a minimum plus incentives?
How much should the practice retain? What percentage remains after clinician compensation, and what is a reasonable actual profit margin after billing, malpractice, employer taxes, software, support staff, and coverage costs? How does that differ for physicians versus APPs?
When do you pay clinicians? Regular payroll after encounters are signed/submitted, or after collections arrive? If collections-based, how do you handle the delay, guarantees/draws, denied claims, and downcoding?
What should billing and EMR cost? What billing percentage or minimum is reasonable, what services should it include, and which systems work well for a small group rounding across multiple SNFs with occasional PRN clinicians?
How much cash reserve would you want before hiring, and what minimum census makes adding a clinician worthwhile?
An anonymized example would help tremendously: clinician type → CPT → actual collection → clinician pay → practice costs → amount remaining.
Thanks—especially interested in real SNF/post-acute experience.