Aveanna Healthcare Holdings Inc (AVAH) 2025 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, and welcome to Aveanna Healthcare Holdings' first quarter 2025 earnings conference call. Today's call is being recorded, and we have allocated one hour for prepared remarks and Q&A.

早安，歡迎參加 Aveanna Healthcare Holdings 2025 年第一季財報電話會議。今天的電話會議正在錄音，我們預留了一個小時的時間來準備好的發言和問答。

At this time, I'd like to turn the call over to Debbie Stewart, Aveanna's Chief Accounting Officer. Thank you. You may begin.

現在，我想將電話轉給 Aveanna 的首席會計官 Debbie Stewart。謝謝。你可以開始了。

Good morning, and welcome to Aviana's first quarter 2025 earnings call. I am Debbie Stewart, the company's Chief Accounting Officer. With me today is Jeff Shaner, our Chief Executive Officer; and Matt Buckhalter, our Chief Financial Officer.

早安，歡迎參加 Aviana 2025 年第一季財報電話會議。我是黛比‧史都華 (Debbie Stewart)，公司的首席會計官。今天和我一起的是我們的執行長 Jeff Shaner；以及我們的財務長 Matt Buckhalter。

During this call, we will make forward-looking statements. Risk factors that may impact those statements and could cause actual future results to differ materially from currently projected results are described in this morning's press release and the reports we file with the SEC. The company does not undertake any duty to update such forward-looking statements.

在本次電話會議中，我們將做出前瞻性陳述。今天上午的新聞稿和我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的報告中描述了可能影響這些聲明並可能導致實際未來結果與當前預測結果有重大差異的風險因素。本公司不承擔更新此類前瞻性陳述的任何義務。

Additionally, during today's call, we will discuss certain non-GAAP measures, which we believe can be useful in evaluating our performance. The presentation of this additional information should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for results prepared in accordance with GAAP. A reconciliation of these measures can be found in this morning's press release, which is posted on our website, aveanna.com, and in our most recent quarterly report on Form 10-Q when filed.

此外，在今天的電話會議中，我們將討論某些非公認會計準則指標，我們認為這些指標有助於評估我們的表現。不應孤立地考慮這些附加資訊的呈現，也不應將其視為根據 GAAP 編制的結果的替代方案。這些措施的協調可以在今天上午的新聞稿中找到，該新聞稿發佈在我們的網站 aveanna.com 上，以及我們提交的最新 10-Q 表季度報告中。

With that, I will turn the call over to Aveanna's, Chief Executive Officer, Jeff Shaner. Jeff?

說完這些，我將把電話轉給 Aveanna 的執行長 Jeff Shaner。傑夫？

Thank you, Debbie. Good morning, and thank you for joining us today. We appreciate each of you investing your time this morning to better understand our Q1 2025 results and how we are moving Aveanna forward in 2025.

謝謝你，黛比。早安，感謝您今天加入我們。我們感謝你們每個人今天上午抽出時間來更好地了解我們 2025 年第一季的業績以及我們如何在 2025 年推動 Aveanna 向前發展。

My initial comments will briefly highlight our first quarter results along with the steps we are taking to address the labor markets and our ongoing efforts with government and preferred payers to create additional capacity. I will then provide insight on how we are thinking about year three of our strategic plan and our improved outlook for 2025.

我最初的評論將簡要介紹我們的第一季業績，以及我們為應對勞動力市場而採取的措施，以及我們與政府和優先付款人為創造額外產能而進行的持續努力。然後，我將深入介紹我們如何看待戰略計劃的第三年以及我們對 2025 年的展望。

Lastly, I will provide some insight into the recently announced Thrive Skilled Pediatric acquisition and how we are thinking about the combined company prior to turning the call over to Matt to provide further details into the quarter.

最後，我將對最近宣布的 Thrive Skilled Pediatric 收購案提供一些見解，以及我們對合併後公司的看法，然後將電話轉給 Matt 以提供有關本季度的更多細節。

Moving to our highlights for the first quarter. Revenue for the first quarter was approximately $559 million, representing a 14% increase over the prior year period. First quarter adjusted EBITDA was $67.4 million, representing a 93.1% increase over the prior year period, primarily due to the improved payer rate environment and continued cost savings initiatives.

轉到第一季的亮點。第一季營收約 5.59 億美元，比去年同期成長 14%。第一季調整後的 EBITDA 為 6,740 萬美元，較去年同期成長 93.1%，主要由於付款人費率環境的改善和持續的成本節約措施。

We continue to execute our strategic transformation strategy, focusing on obtaining adequate rates from our payer and government partners for the services we provide, which is clearly evidenced in our first quarter results. Our first quarter performance benefited from some timing-related revenue items that favorably impacted our PDS division. Matt will provide further details on this in his prepared remarks.

我們繼續執行我們的策略轉型策略，專注於從我們的付款人和政府合作夥伴那裡獲得我們提供的服務的適當費率，這在我們的第一季業績中得到了明顯證明。我們第一季的業績受益於一些與時間相關的收入項目，這些項目對我們的 PDS 部門產生了積極影響。馬特將在其準備好的演講中提供更多有關此事的細節。

As we have previously discussed, the labor environment represented the primary challenge that we needed to address to see Aveanna resume the growth trajectory that we believed our company could achieve. It is important to note that our industry does not have a demand problem. The demand for home and community-based care continues to be strong with both state and federal governments and managed care organizations asking for solutions that create more capacity while reducing the total cost of care.

正如我們之前所討論的，勞動力環境是我們需要解決的主要挑戰，以使 Aveanna 恢復我們認為公司能夠實現的成長軌跡。值得注意的是，我們的產業不存在需求問題。家庭和社區照護的需求持續強勁，州和聯邦政府以及管理式醫療組織都要求提供能夠創造更多能力同時降低總照護成本的解決方案。

Our Q1 results highlight that we continue to align our objectives with those of our preferred payers and government partners. By focusing our clinical capacity on our preferred payers, we achieved significant year-over-year growth in revenue and adjusted EBITDA. We also experienced improvement in our caregiver hiring and retention trends by aligning our efforts with those payers willing to engage with us on enhanced reimbursement rates and value-based agreements.

我們的第一季業績表明，我們繼續將我們的目標與我們的首選付款人和政府合作夥伴的目標保持一致。透過將我們的臨床能力集中在我們的優先付款人身上，我們實現了收入和調整後 EBITDA 的同比大幅增長。透過與那些願意與我們合作提高報銷率和基於價值的協議的付款人保持一致的努力，我們的護理人員招聘和保留趨勢也得到了改善。

While we continue to operate in a challenging environment, our preferred payer strategy supports our ability to achieve normalized growth rates in all three of our business segments. Since our fourth quarter earnings call, I am pleased with the continued progress we have made on several of our rate improvement initiatives with both government and payer partners, as well as continued signs of improvement in the caregiver labor market.

雖然我們繼續在充滿挑戰的環境中運營，但我們的優先付款人策略支持我們在所有三個業務部門實現正常化成長率的能力。自從第四季財報電話會議以來，我很高興看到我們與政府和付款方合作夥伴在多項費率改進措施上取得了持續進展，並且護理人員勞動力市場也持續出現改善的跡象。

Specifically, as it relates to our private duty services business, our government affairs strategy for 2025 is twofold. First, we plan to execute on our legislative strategy to improve reimbursement rates in at least 10 states. And second, we are advocating for Medicaid rate integrity on behalf of children with complex medical conditions. We have a strong advocacy presence with both federal and state legislatures, as well as solid support from our governors across our national footprint.

具體來說，就我們的私人服務業務而言，我們 2025 年的政府事務策略具有雙重性。首先，我們計劃執行立法策略，提高至少 10 個州的報銷率。其次，我們代表患有複雜疾病的兒童倡導醫療補助費率的完整性。我們在聯邦和州立法機構都有強大的倡議力量，並且得到了全國各地州長的大力支持。

Legislatures have recognized how meaningful private duty nursing is to the overall cost savings and improved outcomes of our nation's most vulnerable children. We achieved five rate enhancements for our PDS segment in Q1 and are well on our way to reach our legislative goals for 2025. I am proud of our government affairs and our advocacy teams for their commitment to protecting children with complex medical conditions.

立法機構已經認識到私人護理對於我國最弱勢兒童的整體成本節約和改善結果具有多麼重要的意義。我們在第一季實現了 PDS 部門的五次利率提升，並且正在順利實現 2025 年的立法目標。我為我們的政府事務和宣傳團隊致力於保護患有複雜疾病的兒童而感到自豪。

Now, moving on to our preferred payer initiatives, our goal for 2025 is to increase the number of PDS preferred payer agreements from 22 to 30. We added two additional preferred payer agreements in Q1 and are currently positioned at 24 agreements in total. Managed care organizations continue to ask us for solutions for their members to receive nursing care in the home. Aveanna's preferred payer strategy is gaining momentum and allowing us to invest in caregiver wages and recruitment efforts to accelerate hiring and staffing of nurses for our patients.

現在，我們來談談我們的優先付款人計劃，我們 2025 年的目標是將 PDS 優先付款人協議的數量從 22 個增加到 30 個。我們在第一季增加了兩份優先付款人協議，目前總共達成了 24 份協議。管理式醫療組織不斷要求我們為其成員提供在家中接受護理的解決方案。Aveanna 的優先付款人策略正在獲得發展動力，使我們能夠投資於護理人員的薪資和招募工作，以加快為我們的病患招募和配備護理人員。

Additionally, our Q1 preferred payer agreements now account for approximately 54% of our total PDS MCO volumes, up from 50% in Q4. This continued positive momentum in preferred payer volumes highlights the shift in our caregiver capacity and recruitment efforts towards our PDS preferred payer partners.

此外，我們第一季的優先付款人協議目前約占我們 PDS MCO 總交易量的 54%，高於第四季的 50%。優先付款人數持續呈現正面勢頭，凸顯了我們的護理人員能力和招募工作轉向 PDS 優先付款人合作夥伴。

Moving to our preferred payer progress in home health, our goal for 2025 is to maintain our episodic mix above 70% while returning to a more normalized growth rate. In Q1, our episodic mix was 77%, and our total episodic volume growth was essentially flat with the prior year period. We added three episodic agreements in the quarter and currently sit at 45 preferred payer agreements in total. Our focus on aligning our home health caregiver capacity with those payers willing to reimburse us on an episodic basis has led to solid improvement in our clinical and financial outcomes.

轉向我們在家庭保健領域的首選付款人進展，我們 2025 年的目標是將我們的偶發性組合保持在 70% 以上，同時恢復到更正常的增長率。在第一季度，我們的情境劇組合佔比為 77%，整體情境劇集銷售成長與去年同期基本持平。我們在本季增加了三項分階段協議，目前共有 45 項優先付款人協議。我們致力於將家庭保健護理人員的能力與願意定期報銷的付款人結合起來，這使得我們的臨床和財務結果得到了顯著改善。

Finally, as we have achieved our desired preferred payer model in private duty services and home health and hospice, we have embarked on a similar strategy in our medical solutions business. We're still in the early stages of implementing our preferred payer strategy in medical solutions, but believe it will be fully realized by the end of the year.

最後，由於我們在私人服務和家庭保健及臨終關懷領域實現了我們期望的優先付款人模式，我們也在醫療解決方案業務中採取了類似的策略。我們仍處於在醫療解決方案中實施優先付款人策略的早期階段，但相信到今年年底將全面實現。

To date, we have 17 preferred payers in medical solutions, and we expect that number to grow as we achieve our desired preferred payer model. Our gross margins are stabilizing in the 42% to 44% range as we are aligning our clinical capacity with those payers that value our services and pay us in a timely fashion.

到目前為止，我們在醫療解決方案方面擁有 17 個首選付款人，隨著我們實現理想的首選付款人模式，我們預計這個數字將會成長。我們的毛利率穩定在 42% 至 44% 的範圍內，因為我們正在將我們的臨床能力與那些重視我們的服務並及時付款的付款人保持一致。

While our volume growth will be muted this year, we expect our clinical outcomes, customer satisfaction, and financial outcomes to improve as we achieve our target operating model. I look forward to updating you on our medical solutions progress over the coming quarters.

雖然今年我們的銷售成長將會放緩，但隨著我們實現目標營運模式，我們預計臨床結果、客戶滿意度和財務結果將會改善。我期待在未來幾季向您通報我們的醫療解決方案的進展。

We are encouraged by our rate increases, preferred payer agreements, and subsequent recruiting results. Our business has demonstrated solid signs of recovery as we achieve our rate goals previously discussed. Home and community-based care will continue to grow, and Aveanna is a comprehensive platform with a diverse payer base, providing a cost-effective, high-quality alternative to higher-cost care settings. And most importantly, we provide this care in the most desirable setting, the comfort of the patient's home.

我們的費率上漲、優先付款人協議以及隨後的招聘結果令我們感到鼓舞。隨著我們實現先前討論的利率目標，我們的業務已顯示出強勁復甦的跡象。家庭和社區護理將繼續增長，Aveanna 是一個綜合平台，擁有多元化的付款人群體，為高成本的護理環境提供具有成本效益的高品質替代方案。最重要的是，我們在最理想的環境中——患者舒適的家中提供這種護理。

Before I turn the call over to Matt, let me comment on our strategic plan and enhanced outlook for 2025. We will continue to focus our efforts on five primary strategic initiatives. First, enhancing partnerships with government partners and preferred payers to create additional capacity and growth. Second, identifying cost efficiencies and synergies that allow us to leverage our growth.

在我將電話轉給馬特之前，請允許我評論我們的戰略計劃和 2025 年的展望。我們將持續集中力量實施五項主要策略措施。首先，加強與政府合作夥伴和優先付款人的夥伴關係，以創造額外的產能和成長。第二，確定能讓我們實現成長的成本效率和綜效。

Third, modernizing our medical solutions business to achieve our target operating model. Fourth, managing our capital structure and collecting our cash while producing positive free cash flow. And lastly, engaging our leaders and our employees in delivering our Aveanna mission.

第三，實現醫療解決方案業務的現代化，以實現我們的目標營運模式。第四，管理我們的資本結構並收取現金，同時產生正的自由現金流。最後，讓我們的領導和員工參與 Aveanna 使命。

Based on the strength of our first quarter results and the continued execution of our key strategic initiatives, we now anticipate 2025 revenue to be greater than $2.15 billion and adjusted EBITDA to be greater than $207 million. We believe this enhanced 2025 outlook provides a prudent view, considering the challenges we still face with the evolving macro environment.

基於我們第一季業績的強勁表現以及我們持續執行的關鍵策略舉措，我們現在預計 2025 年營收將超過 21.5 億美元，調整後 EBITDA 將超過 2.07 億美元。我們認為，考慮到我們在不斷變化的宏觀環境中仍然面臨的挑戰，這項增強的 2025 年展望提供了一種審慎的觀點。

As it relates to our recently announced transaction to acquire Thrive Skilled Pediatric, I am pleased to report that we are on target to close this transaction in the coming weeks. Our combined leadership teams are collaborating on integration plans, communications, and post-close strategies to optimize the care delivery for our patients and families. Thrive SPC will be a fantastic addition to our Aveanna family and further enhance our preferred payer and government affairs strategies. I look forward to updating you on our progress in the coming quarters.

由於這與我們最近宣布的收購 Thrive Skilled Pediatric 的交易有關，我很高興地報告，我們預計在未來幾週內完成這筆交易。我們的共同領導團隊正在合作制定整合計畫、溝通和交易完成後的策略，以優化對病人和家屬的照護服務。Thrive SPC 將成為我們 Aveanna 家族的絕佳補充，並進一步增強我們的優先付款人和政府事務策略。我期待在未來幾季向您通報我們的進展。

In closing, I am incredibly proud of our Aveanna team and their dedication to executing our strategic transformation while holding our mission at the core of everything we do. We offer a cost-effective, patient-preferred, and clinically-sophisticated solution for our patients and families. Furthermore, we are the right solution for our payers, referral sources, and government partners.

最後，我為我們的 Aveanna 團隊感到無比自豪，他們致力於執行我們的策略轉型，同時將我們的使命置於我們所做的一切的核心。我們為患者和家屬提供經濟高效、患者首選且臨床先進的解決方案。此外，我們為付款人、轉診來源和政府合作夥伴提供正確的解決方案。

With that, let me turn the call over to Matt to provide further details on the quarter and our 2025 outlook. Matt?

說完這些，讓我把電話轉給馬特，讓他提供有關本季和 2025 年展望的更多詳細資訊。馬特？

Thank you, Jeff, and good morning. I will first talk about our first quarter financial results and liquidity before providing additional details on our improved outlook for 2025. Starting with the top line, we saw revenues rise 14% over the prior year period to $559 million. We achieved year-over-year revenue growth in all three of our operating divisions, led by our private duty services, home health and hospice, and medical solution segments, which grew by 16.5%, 3.9%, and 3.6% compared to the prior quarter.

謝謝你，傑夫，早安。我將首先談論我們的第一季財務表現和流動性，然後再提供有關我們對 2025 年改善的前景的更多細節。從營業收入來看，我們發現營收較上年同期成長 14%，達到 5.59 億美元。我們的三個營運部門的收入均實現了同比增長，其中私人服務、家庭健康和臨終關懷以及醫療解決方案部門的收入分別比上一季度增長了 16.5%、3.9% 和 3.6%。

Consolidated gross margin was $183.6 million, or 32.8%. Consolidated adjusted EBITDA was $67.4 million, a 93.1% increase as compared to the prior year, reflecting the improved payer rate environment as well as continued cost savings initiatives. As Jeff mentioned, Q1 benefited from some timing-related rate enhancements and revenue reserve improvements in our PBS segment, which had a positive EBITDA impact of approximately $11 million.

綜合毛利率為 1.836 億美元，即 32.8%。合併調整後 EBITDA 為 6,740 萬美元，較上年增長 93.1%，反映了付款人費率環境的改善以及持續的成本節約措施。正如 Jeff 所提到的，第一季受益於我們 PBS 部門的一些與時間相關的利率提高和收入儲備改善，這對 EBITDA 產生了約 1100 萬美元的積極影響。

Now taking a deeper look into each of our segments. Starting with private duty services, revenue for the quarter was approximately $460 million, a 16.5% increase, and was driven by approximately 10.9 million hours of care, a volume increase of 6.1% over the prior year.

現在讓我們更深入地了解每個部分。從私人護理服務開始，本季營收約為 4.6 億美元，成長 16.5%，主要得益於約 1,090 萬小時的護理服務，比上年增長了 6.1%。

Q1 revenue per hour of $42.25 was up 10.4% as compared to the prior quarter, primarily driven by preferred payer volume growth and rate enhancements previously discussed. We remain optimistic about our ability to attract caregivers and address market demands for our services when we obtain acceptable reimbursement rates.

第一季每小時收入為 42.25 美元，較上一季增長 10.4%，主要受先前討論過的優先付款人數量增長和費率提高的推動。當我們獲得可接受的報銷率時，我們仍然對我們吸引護理人員和滿足市場對我們服務的需求的能力持樂觀態度。

Turning to our cost of labor and gross margin metrics, we achieved $134.7 million of gross margin, or 29.3%. The cost of revenue rate of $29.88 in Q1 was up $1.15, or 4.2% from the prior year period. Despite ongoing wage pressures and labor markets, our Q1 spread per hour was $12.37. We anticipate this metric will normalize over time as we continue to adjust caregiver wages to support our improved volumes and clinical outcomes.

談到我們的勞動成本和毛利率指標，我們實現了 1.347 億美元的毛利率，即 29.3%。第一季的營收成本率為 29.88 美元，比去年同期上漲 1.15 美元，成長 4.2%。儘管工資和勞動力市場持續面臨壓力，但我們第一季的每小時利差仍為 12.37 美元。我們預計，隨著我們繼續調整護理人員的薪資以支持我們改善的數量和臨床結果，這項指標將隨著時間的推移而正常化。

Moving on to our home health and hospice segment, revenue for the quarter was approximately $56.7 million, a 3.9% increase over the prior year. Revenue was driven by 9,700 total admissions, with approximately 77% being episodic and 12,100 total episodes of care, essentially flat from the prior year quarter. Medicare revenue per episode for the quarter was $3,152, up 2.7% from the prior year quarter. We continue to focus on right-sizing our approach to growth in the near term by focusing on preferred payers that reimburse us on an episodic basis.

我們的家庭保健和臨終關懷部門本季營收約為 5,670 萬美元，比上年增長 3.9%。收入主要來自總入院人數 9,700 人次，其中約 77% 為偶發性入院，總護理次數為 12,100 次，與去年同期基本持平。本季每集醫療保險收入為 3,152 美元，比去年同期成長 2.7%。我們將繼續專注於在短期內調整我們的成長方式，並專注於按階段性向我們償還費用的優先付款人。

This episodic focus has accelerated our margin expansion and improved our clinical outcomes. With episodic admissions well over 70%, we have achieved our goal of right-sizing our margin profile and enhancing our clinical offerings. We're pleased with our Q1 gross margin of 54.2%, up 1.1% over the prior year period, and representing our continued focus on cost initiatives to achieve our targeted margin profile. Our home health and hospice platform is dedicated to creating value through effective operational management and the delivery of exceptional patient care.

這種偶發性關注加速了我們的利潤擴張並改善了我們的臨床結果。由於偶發性入院率遠超過 70%，我們實現了調整利潤率和增強臨床服務的目標。我們對第一季 54.2% 的毛利率感到滿意，比去年同期成長了 1.1%，這表明我們繼續專注於成本計劃，以實現我們的目標利潤率。我們的家庭保健和臨終關懷平台致力於透過有效的營運管理和提供卓越的患者護理來創造價值。

Now, to our medical solutions segment results for Q1. During the quarter, we produced revenue of $42.5 million, a 3.6% increase over the prior year. Revenue was driven by approximately 89,000 unique patients served, a 3.3% decrease over the prior year period, and revenue per UPS of approximately $477, up 6.9% over the prior year period. Gross margins were approximately $18.1 million, or 42.7% for the quarter, up 1.9% over the prior year period.

現在，我們來看看第一季醫療解決方案部門的表現。本季度，我們的營收為 4,250 萬美元，比上年增長 3.6%。收入主要來自於服務的約 89,000 名獨立患者，比去年同期下降 3.3%，每 UPS 的收入約為 477 美元，比去年同期增長 6.9%。本季毛利率約 1,810 萬美元，或 42.7%，比去年同期成長 1.9%。

As Jeff mentioned, we continue to implement initiatives to be more effective and efficient in our operations to achieve our targeted operating model. We are accelerating our preferred payer strategy and medical solutions by aligning our capacity with those payers that value our resources and appropriately reimburse us for the services we provide.

正如傑夫所提到的，我們將繼續實施舉措，提高營運的有效性和效率，以實現我們的目標營運模式。我們正在透過將我們的能力與那些重視我們的資源並為我們提供的服務提供適當補償的付款人相結合，來加速我們的優先付款人策略和醫療解決方案。

Expect gross margins to normalize in the 42% to 44% range, and UPS to continue around 89,000 per quarter before returning to a more normalized growth rate. We'll continue to update you on our progress as we continue to execute on this initiative.

預計毛利率將恢復正常在 42% 至 44% 的範圍內，UPS 每季的銷售量將繼續保持在 89,000 左右，然後恢復到更正常的成長率。我們將繼續執行此舉措，並向您通報進度。

In summary, we continue to fight through a difficult labor environment while keeping our patients' care at the center of everything we do. It is clear to us that shifting caregiver capacity to those preferred payers who value our partnership is the path forward at Aveanna.

總而言之，我們將繼續在艱難的分娩環境中奮鬥，同時將患者的照護放在我們所做的一切的中心。我們很清楚，將護理人員的能力轉移給那些重視我們合作關係的優先付款人是 Aveanna 前進的道路。

Our primary challenge continues to be reimbursement rates. With the positive momentum we experienced in 2024 in Q1, we remain optimistic that such trends will continue throughout 2025. As we continue to make progress with the rate environment, we will pass through wage improvements and other benefits to our caregivers and the ongoing efforts to better improve volumes.

我們的主要挑戰仍然是報銷率。鑑於我們在 2024 年第一季經歷的積極勢頭，我們仍然樂觀地認為這種趨勢將持續到 2025 年。隨著我們在費率環境方面不斷取得進展，我們將透過提高工資和其他福利來惠及我們的護理人員，並不斷努力提高護理數量。

Now, moving on to our balance sheet and liquidity. At the end of the first quarter, we had liquidity of approximately $266 million, representing cash on hand of approximately $72 million, $56 million of availability under our securitization facility, and approximately $138 million of availability on a revolver, which was undrawn as of the end of the quarter. We had $32 million in outstanding letters of credit at the end of Q1.

現在，我們來談談資產負債表和流動性。截至第一季末，我們的流動資金約為 2.66 億美元，其中包括約 7,200 萬美元的現金、5,600 萬美元的證券化工具可用資金以及約 1.38 億美元的循環信貸可用資金（截至本季末尚未提取）。截至第一季末，我們有 3,200 萬美元的未償信用證。

Our ample liquidity provides room to operate the business and invest in the company to support our continued growth. On the debt service front, we had approximately $1.47 billion of variable rate debt at the end of Q1. Of this amount, $520 million is hedged with fixed rate swaps, and $880 million is subject to an interest rate cap, which limits further exposure to increases in SOFR above 3%.

我們充足的流動資金為經營業務和投資公司提供了空間，並支持我們持續成長。在債務償還方面，第一季末我們的浮動利率債務約為 14.7 億美元。其中，5.2 億美元透過固定利率掉期進行對沖，8.8 億美元受到利率上限的限制，從而限制了 SOFR 超過 3% 的進一步風險敞口。

Accordingly, substantially all of our variable rate debt is hedged. Our interest rate swaps extend through June 2026, and our interest rate caps extend through February 2027. As a reminder, we have no material term loan maturities until July 2028.

因此，我們幾乎所有的浮動利率債務都得到了對沖。我們的利率交換延長至 2026 年 6 月，我們的利率上限延長至 2027 年 2 月。提醒一下，我們在 2028 年 7 月之前沒有重大定期貸款到期。

Looking at year-to-date cash flow, cash used by operating activities was $8.6 million, and free cash flow was negative $12.9 million. As a reminder, the first quarter typically represents our seasonal low point for both operating and free cash flows, and we expect to see continued improvement over the course of the year.

從年初至今的現金流來看，經營活動所用現金為 860 萬美元，自由現金流為負 1,290 萬美元。提醒一下，第一季通常代表我們的營業和自由現金流的季節性低點，我們預計全年將繼續改善。

Before I hand the call over to the operator for Q&A, let me take a moment to address our improved outlook for 2025. As Jeff mentioned, we expect full-year revenue to be greater than $2.15 billion and adjusted EBITDA to be greater than $207 million. I'd like to highlight that our improved guidance currently does not include any impact from the anticipated Thrive SPC acquisition.

在我將電話交給接線員進行問答之前，請容許我花點時間來談談我們對 2025 年的展望。正如傑夫所提到的，我們預計全年營收將超過 21.5 億美元，調整後的 EBITDA 將超過 2.07 億美元。我想強調的是，我們改進後的指導目前不包括預期的 Thrive SPC 收購的任何影響。

As we reflect on our Q1 results, I would like to take a moment to express my sincere gratitude to our Aveanna teammates. These strong results would not have been possible without your hard work and dedication. Looking ahead, I'm excited for the execution of our 2025 strategic plan. I look forward to providing you with further updates at the end of Q2.

當我們回顧第一季的業績時，我想花點時間向我們的 Aveanna 隊友表達最誠摯的感謝。如果沒有你們的辛勤工作和奉獻，這些出色的成績是不可能實現的。展望未來，我對我們 2025 年策略計畫的執行感到興奮。我期待在第二季末為您提供進一步的更新。

With that, let me turn the call over to the operator.

說完這些，讓我把電話轉給接線生。

(Operator Instructions) Meghan Holtz, Jeffries.

（操作員指示）梅根·霍爾茨，杰弗里斯。

Good morning, guys. This is Meghan on for Bryan. Congrats on a really strong quarter. It's nice to see the work you guys are doing on rates finally coming through. I guess can you just discuss where you are in those ten states that you're targeting for the year and then the remaining six and the preferred payers and how to think about that long-term pipeline on the rate side?

大家早安。這是梅根代替布萊恩的表演。恭喜本季業績表現強勁。很高興看到你們在利率方面所做的工作終於取得了成果。我想您能否討論一下您今年的目標市場是那十個州，然後是剩下的六個州和優先付款人，以及如何考慮利率方面的長期管道？

Yeah, Megan, good morning. Thanks for your comments. As you suggested, we expected this year to be a little bit more muted on the government affairs rate front. We were optimistic that we could reach ten states, which, as you know, over the last three years would be a moderated year for us over the last couple of years.

是的，梅根，早安。感謝您的評論。正如您所說，我們預計今年政府事務費率方面會稍微低一些。我們樂觀地認為，我們可以涵蓋十個州，正如你所知，在過去的三年裡，這對我們來說是溫和的一年。

We are pleased that out of the gate we've got five GA rate increases and already two preferred payer wins, so five plus two, seven in total in Q1. So it's been a great start to the year. We still are playing through the noise on a macro level, and I think we expect to achieve our ten GA rate increases, but I think we're still expecting that to be a relatively muted year.

我們很高興，第一季我們已經獲得了五次 GA 費率上調，並且已經獲得了兩次優先付款人勝利，因此五加二，總共七次。所以這是今年的一個好開始。我們仍在宏觀層面上應對各種噪音，我認為我們預計將實現 10 次 GA 費率上調，但我認為我們仍預計這將是相對平靜的一年。

I think we'll learn a lot between now and August as the majority of our states finish their annual budget cycles and as the federal government works through their macro processes. As it relates to the preferred payer start, those two -- we talked about the percentage of PDS MCO volumes up from 50% of our volumes at the end of the year to 54%. That was really driven by those two signings of those two additional preferred payers.

我認為從現在到八月，隨著大多數州完成年度預算週期以及聯邦政府完成宏觀流程，我們將學到很多東西。因為這與優先付款人的開始有關，所以我們討論了 PDS MCO 交易量的百分比，從年底的 50% 上升到了 54%。這實際上是由另外兩家優先付款人的簽約所推動的。

They were meaningful in nature, so really nice job to our preferred payer team. They continue to have a very robust pipeline, and the thesis behind our preferred payer strategy continues to play out. Our preferred payers, especially on the PDS front, continue to just ask for more and more clinical capacity.

它們本質上是有意義的，所以對於我們的優先付款人團隊來說，這真的是一個很好的工作。他們繼續擁有非常強大的管道，我們首選付款人策略背後的論點繼續發揮作用。我們的首選付款人，特別是在 PDS 方面，繼續要求越來越多的臨床能力。

So we expect that to be a robust year for us on the preferred payer standpoint, and we think that will play through even the macro environment that's going on today. So setting up to be a nice year for us, still a little bit early. We want to see how things play out through the summer, but setting up to be a really nice year for us.

因此，從優先付款人的角度來看，我們預計今年對我們來說將是強勁的一年，我們認為這甚至會影響當今的宏觀環境。因此，對我們來說，迎接美好的一年還為時過早。我們想看看整個夏天事情會如何發展，但對我們來說這將是美好的一年。

Great. And then, Matt, I appreciate your comments on the cash flow and the seasonality to it in 1Q, but can you walk us through the thoughts on the operating cash flow for the second quarter.

偉大的。然後，馬特，我很感謝您對第一季現金流及其季節性的評論，但您能否向我們介紹一下對第二季度經營現金流的看法。

And then how to think about the right EBITDA to cash flow conversion just given the improvement in margins we've seen?

那麼，考慮到我們所看到的利潤率的提高，如何考慮正確的 EBITDA 到現金流轉換？

Yeah, Meghan, we're really, really pleased with our progress in positioning Aveanna to be a free cash flow generating organization. Our Q1 cash outflow of $13 million was actually a lot better than we anticipated it being back-to-back years of having really nice Q1 cash flow numbers. As a reminder, to your point, Q1 includes a lot of our seasonality, and there's normal impacts that go through our business that get better over the course of the year.

是的，梅根，我們對將 Aveanna 定位為自由現金流產生組織所取得的進展感到非常非常高興。我們第一季的現金流出為 1,300 萬美元，實際上比我們預期的要好得多，這是我們連續第二年獲得非常好的第一季現金流數據。提醒一下，正如您所說，第一季包含了許多季節性因素，並且對我們的業務產生的正常影響會在一年內逐漸改善。

On a standalone basis, we continue to expect Aviana to generate operating cash flow and be free cash flow in 2025. We will provide a little bit more updates as we integrate Thrive SPC into the organization, and once we get our arms wrapped around there, we'll give you better clarity in August.

從獨立角度來看，我們仍然預計 Aviana 將在 2025 年產生經營現金流並成為自由現金流。在將 Thrive SPC 整合到組織中時，我們將提供更多更新，一旦我們完成整合，我們將在 8 月為您提供更清晰的資訊。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Thanks, Meghan.

謝謝，梅根。

Pito Chickering, Deutsche Bank.

皮托·奇克林，德意志銀行。

Good morning, guys. Thanks for taking my questions. Nice job on the quarter. I guess going into sort of the quarter, I mean -- just want to think about what is the continuing, I guess, EBITDA, kind of -- as we think about the base coming from here and kind of what timers in there and any details you can give us on those one-timers.

大家早安。感謝您回答我的問題。本季表現不錯。我想進入本季度，我的意思是 - 只是想考慮一下持續的，我想，EBITDA，有點像 - 當我們考慮來自這裡的基礎以及其中的計時器以及您可以向我們提供的有關這些一次性計時器的任何詳細信息時。

Hey, Pito. Yeah, thanks. And thanks for the question. Two primary areas here for those one-timers that resulted in $11 million of EBITDA benefit in Q1. First and foremost, we had really, really strong cash collections, and it was great cash collections. Our RCM team, working with our operations team, working with our payer relations team, were able to pull forward some really old AR that was previously fully reserved, and so that was able to drop to the bottom line, come through revenue, drop to the bottom line. That was roughly about $6 million. Really proud of the team's efforts for maintaining that.

嘿，皮托。是的，謝謝。感謝您的提問。對於那些在第一季帶來 1,100 萬美元 EBITDA 收益的一次性投資而言，主要有兩個領域。首先，我們的現金收集能力非常非常強，而且是優秀的現金收集能力。我們的 RCM 團隊與我們的營運團隊、付款人關係團隊合作，能夠提前提取一些先前已完全預留的舊 AR，因此能夠將其降至底線，透過收入降至底線。這大約是 600 萬美元。真的為團隊維持這一點的努力感到自豪。

Additionally, we benefited from a little bit of retro rate increase as well in there, so taking both of those factors into consideration, Q1 was probably closer to a normalized basis of $550 million revenue number and about a $55 million EBITDA number. Still phenomenal results. Really proud of the teams and what we were able to achieve. Jeff, any thoughts going forward?

此外，我們還受益於一點追溯利率的提高，因此，考慮到這兩個因素，第一季的收入可能更接近正常化的 5.5 億美元收入數字和約 5500 萬美元的 EBITDA 數字。仍然是驚人的成果。真的為我們的團隊和我們所取得的成就感到自豪。傑夫，接下來有什麼想法嗎？

Yeah, and Pito, first of all, great question. I think Matt laid it out well. Our job when we receive these rate improvements is to pass that through to the caregivers. When there is a retro rate increase or rate increases, there is a bolus then of revenue that we have to catch up to with the wage pass-through.

是的，Pito，首先，這個問題問得很好。我認為馬特的闡述很好。當我們收到這些費率改善時，我們的工作就是將其轉嫁給護理人員。當稅率上調或再次上調時，就會產生大量的收入，我們必須透過薪資轉嫁來彌補這一缺口。

So I think to the nature of your question, we started passing through the incremental wages to our employees literally the first day of '25 for the retro rate increases, some that went back to 7/1 of '24, others that were effective 1/1 of '25. So we're catching up to that rate even today in May.

所以我認為，就你問題的本質而言，我們從 25 年第一天就開始將增量工資發給我們的員工，進行追溯加薪，有些工資可追溯到 24 年 7 月 1 日，有些工資則從 25 年 1 月 1 日開始生效。因此，即使在五月的今天，我們也正在趕上這一速度。

So we're still passing wage through systematically to the specific payer, to the specific caregivers who work for those payers that gave us those retro rate increases. So I think as you think of Q2, it will still be a slightly elevated spread per hour in PDS, rate per hour as wage catches up. Our best estimation today is it's probably late Q2 by the time we have fully baked that wage pass-through through, and probably Q3 before you see spread per hour drop back down to that normalized rate, probably sub $11 at that point.

因此，我們仍在系統地將工資轉給特定的付款人，即為那些給予我們追溯費率增長的付款人工作的特定護理人員。因此，我認為，正如您所想到的第二季度那樣，隨著工資的趕上，PDS 每小時的利差、每小時的費率仍將略有上升。我們今天的最佳估計是，當我們完全完成工資傳導時，可能要到第二季度末，而可能要到第三季度，你才會看到每小時的利差回落到正常水平，那時可能低於 11 美元。

So I think it will take us a few more months to catch up to that rate. It's a phenomenal outcome for us. Thank you to our payers who have leaned into us and our partners. But I think by Q3, you'll see us back to that PDS normalized spread per hour that you're used to seeing.

所以我認為我們還需要幾個月的時間才能達到這個速度。對我們來說這是一個非凡的結果。感謝我們的付款人以及我們的合作夥伴的支持。但我認為到第三季度，您會看到我們回到您習慣看到的每小時 PDS 標準化價差。

That is a perfect segue into, I guess, sort of the follow-up question here is, we saw these sort of rate increases on PDS in the fourth quarter. We saw this again, obviously, pretty high in the first quarter. You sort of talked about sort of that continuing until you convert that into the wages, I guess.

我想，這是一個完美的過渡，接下來的問題是，我們在第四季度看到了 PDS 利率的上漲。我們再次看到了這種情況，顯然，在第一季度，這一比例相當高。我想，您談到了這種情況會持續下去，直到您將其轉換為工資。

How do we think about hours from here? So as you're converting these increase of rate, you're converting this into wages. Shouldn't we sort of see -- we saw the hours quite strong this quarter on the toughest comp of the year despite leap year. So how should we think about the hourly growth of PDS now that we're seeing this conversion?

我們如何考慮從這裡開始的時間？因此，當您將這些成長率轉換為薪資時。我們不應該看到——儘管是閏年，但本季的工作時間仍然相當強勁，是今年最艱難的季度。那麼，既然我們看到了這種轉變，我們該如何看待 PDS 的每小時成長？

And then the follow-up is, on the AR stuff, is there any, I guess, brilliant job getting fully reserved DSOs on the P&L? Is there any more that you can do there? Thanks.

然後接下來的問題是，關於應收帳款方面，我猜，在損益表中獲得完全預留的 DSO 有什麼出色的工作嗎？您還能做些什麼嗎？謝謝。

I'll start with the first part and then head back to Matt and Debbie for the AR question. Yes, 6.1% volume growth in PDS is extremely hot for us. So that is above our -- our guidance range is 3% to 5% in PDS. We've been on the higher end of that. This was one of the strongest quarters. I do think you'll see a little bit of that as we pass comps for Q2 and Q3, settle, back in that higher end of that 3% to 5%.

我將從第一部分開始，然後再回到 Matt 和 Debbie 那裡詢問 AR 問題。是的，PDS 銷量成長 6.1% 對我們來說非常可觀。因此，這高於我們的指導範圍——PDS 為 3% 至 5%。我們一直處於這一水平的高端。這是表現最強勁的一個季度之一。我確實認為，當我們通過第二季和第三季的比較，回到 3% 到 5% 的較高水平時，你會看到一點這樣的情況。

So I think you'll see -- it may take another quarter or two before we get there, but I think you'll see a relatively consistent volume number for us over the next couple of quarters. But as it relates to the comp of '24, it'll settle back in that roughly 5%range for the next couple of quarters.

所以我想你會看到——我們可能還需要一兩個季度才能實現這一目標，但我認為在接下來的幾個季度裡你會看到我們的銷售數字相對穩定。但與 24 年同期相比，未來幾季它將回落至 5% 左右的範圍內。

Again, in a year that we thought GA, government affairs would be a little bit more muted, the preferred payer side of the business continues to pick up and be stronger. So, it's probably going to be on the higher end of that 3% to 5% volume. So it's a great place to be. But we are extremely cognizant that our payer partners gave us these rates to pass through wages and hire more nurses and caregivers. So we're committed to driving that wage through to the caregiver. Anyone want to talk about AR?

再次，在我們認為 GA 和政府事務會稍微平靜的一年裡，優先付款人業務繼續回升並變得更加強勁。因此，其交易量可能會處於 3% 到 5% 的較高水準。所以這是一個很棒的地方。但我們非常清楚，我們的付款合作夥伴給我們這些費率是為了支付工資並僱用更多的護士和護理人員。因此，我們致力於將工資轉嫁給護理人員。有人想談論 AR 嗎？

Yes. I mean, Pito, I just want to reiterate how proud we are of the Aveanna team members and their continued efforts of driving strong cash collections. It's part of one of our five C's and something that we work for every single day.

是的。我的意思是，皮托，我只是想重申我們對 Aveanna 團隊成員以及他們為推動強勁現金收集所做的持續努力感到多麼自豪。它是我們的「5C」原則之一，也是我們每天努力的目標。

That success and mostly collaboration between ops, RCM, payer relations is really what allowed us to achieve these results. There could be some opportunity for this in the future as well. It takes a whole lot of work to be able to bring a patient home, take care of that patient, provide that service, train it, and get a great clinical outcome.

這種成功以及營運、RCM、付款人關係之間的主要合作才是我們取得這些成果的真正原因。未來也可能存在一些這樣的機會。要將病人帶回家、照顧病人、提供服務、訓練病人並獲得良好的臨床效果，需要做大量的工作。

We do believe we should be appropriately compensated for it. But it's the relationships that we've built with our payers who understand that and value us is allowing us to go back and get some of that fully reserved AR out there. So the answer is maybe, sure, we will continue to work it going forward, but Q1 was just a particularly very good quarter for us.

我們確實認為我們應該得到適當的補償。但是，我們與付款人建立的關係理解並重視我們，這使我們能夠回去並獲得一些完全保留的 AR。所以答案可能是，當然，我們會繼續努力，但第一季對我們來說是一個特別好的季度。

And kudos to Matt and James, the gentleman who runs our RCM and our ops leaders. Matt said it well. The ability to reach out to our payers and have mature conversations about AR that's now a year, two, or three years old and to work with them to get solutions.

我們要向 Matt 和 James 致敬，他們是負責我們 RCM 的紳士，也是我們的營運領導者。馬特說得很好。能夠與我們的付款人聯繫並就 AR 進行成熟的對話（已有一年、兩年或三年的歷史）並與他們合作尋找解決方案。

We just find ourselves in a much different place in 2025 from where we were two and three years ago where we didn't even know the name of the person to call these payers. Now we have a great relationship and continue to work through with them in the spirit of being a partner. So it's all part of the preferred payer strategy, as Matt well laid out. Thanks, Pito.

我們發現，2025 年的情況與兩、三年前相比有很大不同，當時我們甚至不知道該稱呼這些付款人的名字。現在我們的關係很好，並將繼續以合作夥伴的精神與他們合作。因此，正如馬特所闡述的那樣，這都是優先付款人策略的一部分。謝謝，Pito。

Ben Rossi, JP Morgan.

摩根大通的班羅西。

Great. Thanks for the question here. Just turning to the Thrive Acquisition. So on the acquisition in early April, I know you previously mentioned a prudent approach towards M&A, maybe more favoring opportunistic tuck-ins.

偉大的。感謝您在這裡提出的問題。剛剛談到 Thrive Acquisition。因此，關於 4 月初的收購，我知道您之前提到對併購採取謹慎的態度，可能更傾向於機會主義的收購。

This seems a little bit more sizable here at 23 locations in seven states. Could you just provide any additional commentary regarding the expected contribution here in 2025 in terms of revenue, earnings, and maybe synergies within PDS? And then with the overlap in those five states and new entry into two states, was this part of a broader goal of adding density in these geographies or entering either of these new states?

在七個州的 23 個地點，這個規模似乎更大一些。您能否就 2025 年的收入、收益以及 PDS 內部的協同效應方面的預期貢獻提供任何補充評論？那麼，由於這五個州的重疊和兩個新州的進入，這是增加這些地區的密度或進入這兩個新州的更廣泛目標的一部分嗎？

Ben, good morning. Thank you. I'll start with the first part of it and then hand it to Matt as it relates to guidance and how we think of the business. But this is the perfect acquisition for Aveanna. I've told other folks it checks all the boxes. So culturally, our two companies are very alike. Our missions are very alike. So what we do every day in both Aveanna and Thrive fit each other like hand in glove.

本，早安。謝謝。我將從第一部分開始，然後將其交給馬特，因為它與指導以及我們對業務的看法有關。但對於 Aveanna 來說，這是一次完美的收購。我告訴其他人它符合所有要求。所以從文化上來說，我們兩家公司非常相似。我們的使命非常相似。因此，我們每天在 Aveanna 和 Thrive 所做的事情是相輔相成的。

So that's, for us, most important. Like culturally, from a clinical standpoint, clinical accidental standpoint, do we both think alike? And the answer is yes, we do. Second, the densification of states like Texas, North Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Arizona, just make a ton of sense for us. These are states we've got great payer partners that want more nurses. They want more densification of our resources. So the idea of adding significant densities in these states is a no-brainer for us.

所以，對我們來說，這才是最重要的。例如從文化角度、從臨床角度、臨床偶然角度來看，我們的想法是否相同？答案是肯定的，我們有。其次，德州、北卡羅來納州、維吉尼亞州、喬治亞州、亞利桑那州等州的人口密集化對我們來說非常有意義。這些州都有優秀的付款合作夥伴，他們希望有更多的護理人員。他們希望我們的資源能更加密集。因此，在這些州增加顯著密度的想法對我們來說是輕而易舉的。

And then you said it, New Mexico was on our top five states to grow into, so this is perfect. And knowing what I now know about Kansas, I should have added Kansas to the top five states. So we're really excited. A couple of our MCO partners had asked us about being in these states. So the fact that we're able to now grow in those states I think is meaningful.

然後您說，新墨西哥州是我們最有可能發展的五個州之一，所以這很完美。並且根據我現在對堪薩斯州的了解，我應該將堪薩斯州添加到前五個州。所以我們真的很興奮。我們的一些 MCO 合作夥伴詢問了我們關於這些州的情況。因此，我認為我們現在能夠在這些州實現發展這一事實意義重大。

The size is -- yeah, it's a little bit bigger from a revenue standpoint than probably as a pure tuck-in, but we really think of this as just tucking into the Aveanna family. You know, because we're not using any debt, this is incredibly creative to us and de-levering in nature. So, it's a great scenario -- It's an absolute win-win-win for us culturally, from a business strategy standpoint and a de-leveraging standpoint. This is a win-win-win for us.

規模是——是的，從收入角度來看，它可能比純粹的塞餐規模要大一點，但我們真的認為這只是 Aveanna 家族的塞餐。你知道，因為我們沒有使用任何債務，所以這對我們來說極具創造性，並且本質上是去槓桿。所以，這是一個偉大的場景——從文化、商業策略和去槓桿的角度來看，這對我們來說絕對是一個三贏的局面。對我們來說，這是三贏的局面。

So, Matt, you want to touch on how we think about guidance?

那麼，馬特，你想談談我們如何看待指導嗎？

Yeah, but we haven't included it in our guidance at this time just because based upon timing of closing. We have a pretty good line of sight, but you never want to get out in front of your skis there by a few weeks, and that materially impacts any of your guidance. So we'll update August with that number in there.

是的，但我們目前還沒有將其納入我們的指導中，只是因為基於關閉時間。我們的視線非常好，但你絕對不想在幾週後就跑到滑雪板前面，這會對你的任何指導產生重大影響。因此我們將在八月更新該數字。

particularly back to Jeff's point about the culture of this team and organization and really bringing in good people who want to be part of Aveanna's story and continue to provide great care to our patients, that's what we're looking forward to bringing in this Thrive organization.

特別是回到 Jeff 提到的這個團隊和組織的文化，以及真正引進想要成為 Aveanna 故事一部分的優秀人才並繼續為我們的患者提供優質護理，這就是我們期待在 Thrive 組織中引入的。

And I think this fits the spirit of what you should think about us doing in the future. We will do as many Thrive-type acquisitions as we can do, both in home health and hospice as well as PDS. And once we get our medical solutions target operating model in place, we'll be back in the medical solutions, dental, nutrition, growth, M&A growth business as well.

我認為這符合你們對我們未來所做之事的思考精神。我們將盡可能進行類似 Thrive 的收購，包括家庭保健、臨終關懷以及 PDS 領域。一旦我們的醫療解決方案目標營運模式到位，我們就會重新回到醫療解決方案、牙科、營養、成長、併購成長業務。

Great. Appreciate the commentary there. I guess as a follow-up, just on Medicaid policy side, broader development in your advocacy efforts there, could you just give us any updates on where those conversations stand with your federal counterparts? And did you notice any unfreeze over the past month or so with communications now that the new administration's settled in here at the federal level?

偉大的。感謝那裡的評論。我想作為後續問題，僅就醫療補助政策方面而言，您在那裡的倡導工作取得了更廣泛的發展，您能否向我們介紹一下與聯邦同行的對話進展？您是否注意到，自從新政府在聯邦層級就位以來，過去一個月內通訊有所解凍？

Yeah, I think my comments are mostly going to be positive on this topic. I think most importantly, the last few months have really demonstrated how significant the bipartisan support for Medicaid program integrity really is. I think both parties, all branches, including the new CMS appointees for both Medicaid and Medicare are really just showing thoughtful dialogue and thoughtful conversation around anticipated savings.

是的，我認為我對這個主題的評論大多是正面的。我認為最重要的是，過去幾個月確實證明了兩黨對醫療補助計劃完整性的支持有多重要。我認為雙方、所有部門，包括 CMS 新任命的醫療補助和醫療保險官員，實際上都在就預期節省進行深思熟慮的對話和討論。

So I think from our standpoint, Ben, it's been positive. And I think it still remains to be seen how this plays out over the course of the summer. So there's still a lot to be done. And if any legislation does impact Medicaid, if at all, that still remains to play out. But I think our dialogue has been very positive. It's been very open. And it's great to see bipartisan support for the core of Medicaid program integrity being retained throughout these anticipated steps.

所以我認為從我們的角度來看，本，這是正面的。我認為整個夏天這種情況將如何發展還有待觀察。所以還有很多工作要做。如果任何立法確實會影響醫療補助，那麼這仍有待觀察。但我認為我們的對話非常積極。它非常開放。很高興看到兩黨在這些預期步驟中繼續支持醫療補助計劃的完整性核心。

We've gone on record. We also believe in saving costs for the federal and state governments. So at our core, at Aveanna, we are a cost saver. And our studies show that we save between $5,000 to $6,000 a day for our core patients. So, again, we support the idea of saving dollars both nationally and at a state level.

我們已經記錄在案。我們也相信這能為聯邦政府和州政府節省成本。因此，從本質上講，Aveanna 是一家節省成本的公司。我們的研究表明，我們每天可以為核心患者節省 5,000 至 6,000 美元。因此，我們再次支持在國家和州一級節省資金的想法。

And I think our dialogue has been positive with the federal counterparts as well as our state counterparts. Still, time will play out. We recognize there are months in front of us before this fully plays out on a federal basis. Thanks, Ben.

我認為我們與聯邦政府和州政府的對話都是正面的。但時間終將過去。我們認識到，距離聯邦層級全面實施這項措施還有數月時間。謝謝，本。

Understood. Thanks.

明白了。謝謝。

Ben Hendrix, RBC.

本‧亨德里克斯 (Ben Hendrix)，加拿大皇家銀行。

Great. Thanks, guys. Most of our questions have been answered. But just wanted to follow up on those five rate enhancements in the first quarter. Just wanted to get an idea of the size of those increases. I assume those are probably just normal course increases. But also wanted to get your comments there. And the outlook for larger double-digit wage increases. Is California still the next kind of catalytic update we're waiting for there? Thanks.

偉大的。謝謝大家。我們的大部分問題都得到了解答。但只是想跟進第一季的這五次利率調高。只是想了解這些增加的幅度。我認為這些可能只是正常的課程增加。但也希望得到您的評論。而薪資有望實現更大的兩位數成長。加州是否仍是我們正在等待的下一種催化更新？謝謝。

Hey, Ben. Good morning. Thanks. I think I'd separate two pieces of the rate. Matt talked about, you know, about half of the $11 million that we benefited from in the quarter was due to retro rate increases. So I'd separate that, right, because that's really a retro catch-up of rate.

嘿，本。早安.謝謝。我想我應該把利率分成兩個部分。馬特談到，你知道，我們本季獲得的 1,100 萬美元收益中約有一半是由於追溯利率的提高。所以我會將其分開，因為這實際上是一種復古的追趕速度。

I think the part that you're focused on is really how meaningful were the five government affairs rate wins and the two preferred pay rate wins. And I think that's how we think of the core business that -- to Pito's question, like, what does this look like in two quarters?

我認為您真正關注的是五項政府事務費率勝利和兩項優惠薪資費率勝利的意義有多大。我認為這就是我們對核心業務的看法——對於 Pito 的問題，例如，兩個季度後這會是什麼樣子？

Clearly at $12.37 and spread, we are hot. So we still have work to do to pass those wages through to the caregivers. We expect that number to come down in Q2. And we expect it to come down again in Q3. And we think, Ben, by the time we get to Q3 and you see spread per hour, we think you'll see it in more normal what you're used to seeing from us in that somewhere between $10, $11 range. And we think that kind of is the run rate moving forward.

顯然，以 12.37 美元及價差來看，我們很熱。因此，我們仍需做一些工作來將這些薪資轉交給護理人員。我們預計該數字在第二季會下降。我們預計第三季該數字將再次下降。本，我們認為，當我們進入第三季度時，您會看到每小時的價差，我們認為您會看到它處於更正常的狀態，就像您過去從我們這裡看到的一樣，在 10 美元到 11 美元之間的某個範圍內。我們認為這就是未來的運行率。

We are not expecting material GA rate wins mid-year. So we're expecting, additional GA rate wins, but not at the level that we've been talking about over the last, three or four quarters. So we're thinking through GA rate increases that will be maybe single digits, percentage in nature, which are still beneficial to us.

我們並不期望年中出現實質的 GA 率勝利。因此，我們預計 GA 率將進一步提高，但不會達到我們過去三、四個季度所談論的水平。因此，我們正在考慮將 GA 費率提高到個位數或百分比，但這對我們仍然有利。

And then, again, from the PR side to, our goal this year was eight additional preferred payer agreements in PDS, two nice ones out of the gate, teams dialed in, got a very robust pipeline. So I think our PR wins this year will continue to be above probably our expectations and create good momentum for us going into '26 on the PR side of the business.

然後，再次從公關方面來看，我們今年的目標是在 PDS 中增加八個優先付款人協議，其中兩個是不錯的協議，團隊撥通了電話，獲得了非常強大的管道。因此我認為我們今年的公關勝利將繼續超出我們的預期，並為我們在公關業務方面進入 26 年創造良好的勢頭。

The last thing I'll say is a comment. We haven't touched much on home health related to it, but signed three more agreements in Q1, signed three additional episodic agreements, 45 episodic agreements. This really gives us the underpinning to grow home health and hospice for that nature and get back to organic growth of our business. Our rate was up just shy of 4% in home health and hospice on a revenue basis.

我要說的最後一件事是一條評論。我們還沒有涉及太多與之相關的家庭健康問題，但在第一季又簽署了三項協議，簽署了三項額外的階段性協議，共簽署了 45 項階段性協議。這確實為我們發展家庭保健和臨終關懷業務以及恢復業務的有機成長提供了基礎。從收入角度來看，我們的家庭保健和臨終關懷費率上漲了近 4%。

So we're really excited about where we are from both the PDS but also at home health and hospice on the preferred payer strategy and how it's flowing through our clinical outcomes, our financial outcomes, our collections, and just making us a stronger company.

因此，我們對 PDS 以及家庭健康和臨終關懷領域的首選付款人策略以及它如何影響我們的臨床結果、財務結果、收款以及使我們成為更強大的公司感到非常興奮。

Great. Thanks. And just to get an idea on the PDS side of how much volume could be coming into these preferred payer relationships, can you -- you mentioned 54% of the volume in preferred relationships currently. Where does that go pro forma for getting up to 30 relationships by the end of the year? Thanks.

偉大的。謝謝。只是為了了解 PDS 方面有多少交易量可以進入這些優先付款人關係，您提到目前優先關係中的交易量為 54%。到今年年底，要建立多達 30 個關係，這需要什麼形式上的努力？謝謝。

Hey, Ben. Great question. And we get to the point if you start playing law of large numbers out there, and so the larger that number is, the harder it is to churn. We do think that you will see a significant step up in Q2 as well. And then Q3 we'll get there. I mean, we'll be in the mid to high 50s exiting this year. We think that will be a great position for ourselves. We want to make sure that we're providing the most care possible through these preferred payer relationships.

嘿，本。好問題。如果你開始運用大數定律，我們會發現，數字越大，攪拌起來就越困難。我們確實認為您也會在第二季看到顯著的成長。然後我們將在第三季到達那裡。我的意思是，今年我們的收入將達到 50 多億美元。我們認為這對我們自己來說是一個很好的職位。我們希望確保透過這些優先付款人關係提供盡可能多的護理。

So whenever we get those rates, we're passing those through our current caregiving staff that is currently under those payers, but also putting it out there for other caregivers to be able to jump on new cases and bring patients out of the hospital as well. So I think realistic, you can see a nice little jump in Q2. And then that will level off on the growth a little bit and be in that mid to high 50s exiting the year.

因此，無論何時我們獲得這些費率，我們都會將其傳遞給目前由這些付款人負責的護理人員，同時也將其提供給其他護理人員，以便他們能夠處理新病例並將患者帶出醫院。所以我認為現實一點，你會看到第二季出現一個不錯的小幅成長。然後，成長率會稍微趨於平穩，到年底時將達到 55% 左右。

Great. Thank you.

偉大的。謝謝。

David MacDonald, Truist Securities.

大衛麥克唐納（David MacDonald），Truist Securities。

Hey, guys. This is Grayson McAlister on for Dave. Like Ben, most of my questions have been answered, but just wanted to follow up on home health. Episodic mix was obviously strong in the quarter, but total episodes were flat. So just wanted to check on how that compared to your expectations and how we should think about volume growth through the remainder of the year. Thanks.

嘿，大家好。這是戴夫的格雷森·麥卡利斯特 (Grayson McAlister)。像本一樣，我的大部分問題都得到了回答，但我只是想跟進家庭健康狀況。本季劇集組合明顯表現強勁，但總集數持平。所以只是想檢查一下這與您的預期相比如何，以及我們應該如何考慮今年剩餘時間的銷售成長。謝謝。

Great question, Grayson. Thank you. Yeah, I think to my comment, I think we're well positioned to grow. We are well positioned to grow. We've got the model in place. We would even accept 3% or 4% less episodic mix in 77%, getting back down to 75%, getting back down to 72%, 73%, which would tell us that we're accepting a little bit more business from our hospital partners specifically.

格雷森，問得好。謝謝。是的，就我的評論而言，我認為我們已做好充分的成長準備。我們已做好充分的成長準備。我們已經建立了模型。我們甚至會接受 77% 中減少 3% 或 4% 的偶發性組合，然後回落至 75%、72% 或 73%，這說明我們特別從醫院合作夥伴那裡接受了更多業務。

The model is set, right? Our clinical outcomes are off the charts fantastic in our home health and hospice. We're over 4.5 out of 5 stars in our home health business, and we've got a 99.8% hospice caps rating. So we are at the top of the clinical ladder in both home health and hospice and incredibly proud of it.

模型已經設定好了，對吧？我們的家庭保健和臨終關懷的臨床結果非常出色。我們的家庭保健業務獲得了超過 4.5 顆星（滿分為 5 顆星）的評價，我們的臨終關懷評級高達 99.8%。因此，我們在家庭保健和臨終關懷領域處於臨床的頂尖水平，並為此感到無比自豪。

Margin profile is absolutely dialed in, -- in the low 50s gross margin. So it's really just now about growing smart admissions and smart episodes in total. And I think with the 45, you know, total episodic agreements, plus Medicare, it's just a great place for us to be. We've bolstered our sales team. We have re-bolstered some open positions, even layered in some additional growth-oriented positions in home health and hospice.

利潤率狀況絕對準確——毛利率在 50% 以下。因此，現在實際上只是關於整體增加智慧招生和智慧事件。我認為，有了總共 45 項分階段協議，再加上醫療保險，這對我們來說是一個很好的情況。我們增強了銷售團隊。我們重新增加了一些空缺職位，甚至在家庭保健和臨終關懷領域增加了一些以成長為導向的額外職位。

I think, we feel really good about where we are mid Q2 on our Q2 numbers, and we're not going to be at 4%, 5%, 6% year-over-year organic growth [HHH] business yet. I say yet. That is our goal to get there. But we think we can be in that 1% to 3% organic volume growth plus another couple of points on the rate to get to that 4.5%, 5%, total rate growth for home health and hospice.

我認為，我們對第二季中期的業績感到非常滿意，我們的業務同比有機成長 [HHH] 還未達到 4%、5%、6%。我說還。這就是我們的目標。但我們認為，我們可以實現 1% 到 3% 的有機銷量成長，再加上另外幾個點的成長率，以達到家庭保健和臨終關懷的 4.5% 到 5% 的總成長率。

But I think you'll hear us be incredibly robust. The model is dialed in. And, honestly, I've been doing this for 26 years, Grayson. It's dialed in as tight as I've seen it in the last 26 years. So even in a tough macro environment for home health, we continue to thrive, and I feel confident our team is well positioned for volume growth.

但我想你會聽到我們異常強大。該模型已撥入。老實說，格雷森，我已經做這份工作 26 年了。這是我過去 26 年來見過的最嚴格的一次。因此，即使在家庭保健領域面臨嚴峻的宏觀環境下，我們仍然繼續蓬勃發展，而且我相信我們的團隊已做好充分準備實現銷售成長。

Great. Thanks, guys.

偉大的。謝謝大家。

Thanks, Grayson.

謝謝，格雷森。

There are no further questions at this time. I would now like to turn the floor back over to Jeff Shaner for closing comments.

目前沒有其他問題。現在我想把發言權交還給 Jeff Shaner 來做最後評論。

Great. Thank you, everyone, so much for your interest in our Aveanna story. We certainly look forward to updating you on our continued progress, and we'll talk at the end of Q2 in August. Thanks, and have a great day.

偉大的。非常感謝大家對我們的 Aveanna 故事的興趣。我們當然期待向您通報我們的持續進展，我們將在 8 月第二季末進行討論。謝謝，祝您有愉快的一天。

This concludes today's teleconference. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation.

今天的電話會議到此結束。現在您可以斷開線路。感謝您的參與。