US Physical Therapy Inc (USPH) 2024 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good day and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the U.S. Physical Therapy Third Quarter 2024 Earnings Conference Call. At this time all participants are in a listen-only mode. After the speaker’s presentation there will be a question-and-answer session. Please be advised that today’s conference is being recorded. (Operator Instructions)

您好，感謝您的支持。歡迎參加美國物理治療 2024 年第三季財報電話會議。此時所有參與者都處於只聽模式。演講者演講結束後將有問答環節。請注意，今天的會議正在錄音。（操作員指令）

I’d now like to turn the call over to Chris Reading, Chairman and CEO. Please go ahead sir.

現在我想將電話轉給董事長兼執行長 Chris Reading。先生，請繼續。

Thank you. Good morning. And welcome everyone to our Q3 2024 U.S. Physical Therapy earnings call. With me on the line this morning I’ve got our executive team including Carey Hendrickson, our CFO; Eric Williams, the President and COO; Graham Reeve, Chief Operating Officer, West; Rick Binstein, our Executive Vice President and General Counsel. Also with us on the call Jake Martinez, our Senior Vice President of Finance and Accounting.

謝謝。早安.歡迎大家參加我們 2024 年第三季美國物理治療效益電話會議。今天早上與我通話的是我們的執行團隊，包括我們的財務長 Carey Hendrickson；總裁兼營運長 Eric Williams；格雷厄姆·里夫 (Graham Reeve)，西部首席營運長；賓斯坦 (Rick Binstein)，我們的執行副總裁兼總法律顧問。與我們一起參加電話會議的還有我們的財務和會計高級副總裁傑克馬丁內斯 (Jake Martinez)。

I’ve got a lot to discuss with you this morning but before we begin we need to cover a brief disclosure statement. So Jake if you would please.

今天早上我有很多事情要和你們討論，但在開始之前，我們需要先做一份簡短的披露聲明。那麼傑克，如果你願意的話。

Thank you, Chris. This presentation includes forward-looking statements which involve certain risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements are based on the company’s current views and assumptions. The company’s actual results may vary materially from those anticipated. Please see the company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for more information.

謝謝你，克里斯。本簡報包含前瞻性陳述，涉及一定風險和不確定性。這些前瞻性陳述是基於公司目前的觀點和假設。公司的實際結果可能與預期結果有重大差異。請參閱該公司向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件以了解更多資訊。

This presentation also contains certain non-GAAP measures as defined in Regulation G and the related reconciliations can be found in the company’s earnings release and the company’s presentation on our website. Chris?

本簡報還包含規則 G 中定義的某些非 GAAP 指標，相關對帳可在公司收益報告和我們網站上的公司簡報中找到。克里斯？

Thank you, Jake. So we’ve got a lot to unpack here, a lot of things going on in this quarter, but I want to begin by thanking our partners and all of our operations support for the focus around care and the grind in general on what has been a little bit of a challenging market for a while now. The good news that in a number of key areas we’re making steady forward progress.

謝謝你，傑克。因此，我們有很多事情需要解決，本季度有很多事情要做，但我首先要感謝我們的合作夥伴和所有營運支援人員，感謝他們對護理的關注以及總體上的努力。是一個充滿挑戰的市場。好消息是，我們在許多關鍵領域正在穩步前進。

First visit volume which directly correlates to our referrals ties most closely with the tremendous care that our partners and clinicians deliver every day in more than 700 locations around the country. It’s continued to be very strong. We’ve seen solid demand all year. This Q3 our patient visits increased 6% and our visits per clinic per day which is really our measure of local clinic demand hit an all-time high for any third quarter with 30.1 visits.

首次就診量與我們的轉診直接相關，也與我們的合作夥伴和臨床醫生每天在全國 700 多個地點提供的出色護理密切相關。它一直保持強勁勢頭。我們全年都看到強勁的需求。今年第三季度，我們的患者就診量增加了 6%，每家診所每日就診量（我們衡量本地診所需求的指標）達到了第三季度的歷史最高水平，達到 30.1 次就診。

Coupled with that our net rate continued to climb year-over-year to $105.65 versus $102.37 in the prior year quarter. This combination drove revenue 9.3% to $142.2 million for Q3 and adjusted EBITDA up 13.4% for the quarter. All of this during a time of sequential rate pressure from Medicare and wage and other inflation overall.

此外，我們的淨利率繼續同比攀升至 105.65 美元，而去年同期為 102.37 美元。這一組合推動第三季營收成長 9.3% 至 1.422 億美元，調整後 EBITDA 成長 13.4%。所有這一切都發生在醫療保險、薪資和其他通膨總體帶來持續利率壓力的時期。

On the cost side we made some decisions this quarter which will have an impact next year particularly as we look ahead. We closed and we’ll sell some of our underperforming facilities in secondary markets which are no longer working for us and creating a disproportionate investment in time. This is never easy but with recent incoming investments in great markets like Wyoming, Oregon and most recently New York we have to focus our time and attention on where we can create the greatest return.

在成本方面，我們本季做出了一些決定，這將對明年產生影響，特別是展望未來。我們關閉了一些表現不佳的設施，並將其出售給二級市場，這些設施不再為我們服務，並造成不成比例的時間投資。這絕非易事，但隨著最近在懷俄明州、俄勒岡州以及最近的紐約等大市場的投資，我們必須將時間和精力集中在可以創造最大回報的地方。

So net of closures we are operating in an owned and managed capacity now totaling 750 locations and continuing to grow in 43 states. In order to get all this done we have some cleaning up to do considering our current slate of opportunities and our expectations around growth and return.

因此，扣除關閉門市後，我們以自有和管理的模式運營，目前門市總數達到 750 個，並且還在 43 個州繼續增長。為了完成所有這些工作，我們需要根據目前的機會以及對成長和回報的期望進行一些清理工作。

Other additions in the quarter beyond New York Metro included a previously announced eight-clinic practice in the northeast. To the end of October we have opened or acquired 20 de novo or aqua novo [ph] facilities in addition to our larger announced acquisitions with other opportunities in the pipeline yet to come making for some good momentum as we look ahead to 2025.

除紐約大都會區外，本季的其他新增診所包括先前宣布的在東北部設立的八家診所。截至10 月底，除了宣布的較大規模收購外，我們還開設或收購了20 家de novo 或aqua novo [ph] 設施，並且還有其他機會即將到來，為我們展望2025 年創造了良好的發展勢頭。

Also on the highly positive side of the equation was our performance in our injury prevention business which continues to grow at an outsize pace. Revenue this quarter grew approximately 30% compared to Q3 last year and operating profit was up over 27% in the same period. We continue to invest in that space and I’m pleased to announce that we just started a very substantial auto manufacturing contract and a further expansion of one of our largest, longest tenured clients among many other organic opportunities in our development pipeline. I want to take a minute to thank both of our IIP leadership teams for their work this year and the growth they’ve delivered underpinned by exceptional service and care that they provide within many of our nation’s largest and most prominent employers.

同樣非常積極的一面是我們在傷害預防業務方面的表現，該業務繼續以超快​​的速度成長。本季營收與去年第三季相比成長約 30%，同期營業利潤成長超過 27%。我們將繼續在該領域進行投資，我很高興地宣布，我們剛剛開始簽訂一份非常重要的汽車製造合同，並進一步擴大我們最大、合作時間最長的客戶之一，以及我們開發渠道中的許多其他有機機會。我想花一點時間感謝我們的 IIP 領導團隊今年所做的工作以及他們為國家許多最大和最著名的雇主提供的卓越服務和關懷所取得的增長。

Let’s shift gears for a minute and discuss one topic that continues to be the big area of focus for us operationally and that is dealing with and responding to the increased cost for people, as well as products and services that have resulted in our cost per visit increase on a year-over-year basis.

讓我們換個話題，討論一下我們營運方面持續關注的一個問題，那就是如何處理和應對人員、產品和服務成本的增加，這導致了我們的每次訪問的費用同比增加。

First let’s look at where we are for the quarter before we speak about what we’ve done to adjust the trajectory going forward. For the quarter our salary-related cost per visit which includes not only our clinical costs, but all of our clinic level salaries including our billion and collection schemes and our front desk staff. That subset finished the quarter at $62.47 per visit, compared to $60.35 in the 2023 third quarter, 3.5% increase. Looking at our salary and related cost as a percentage of revenue we were able to hold our cost flat year-over-year at approximately $57.6% which I feel we can continue to improve upon especially as we get continued rate left.

首先，讓我們看看本季的情況，然後再談談我們為調整未來軌跡所做的努力。本季度，我們每次就診的工資相關成本不僅包括臨床費用，還包括所有診所級別的工資，包括我們的十億和收款計劃以及前台工作人員。該子集本季的每次造訪費用為 62.47 美元，而 2023 年第三季為 60.35 美元，成長了 3.5%。將我們的薪酬和相關成本佔收入的百分比視為我們的目標，我們能夠將成本與去年同期相比保持平穩，約為57.6% ，我認為我們可以繼續改進，特別是當我們獲得持續的利率時。

Let’s talk about what we did to make some adjustments as we look forward. In the quarter the ops team went back and remapped our clinics to where we were in 2021. Why 2021? That was a fairly lean year coming out of the first year of COVID. Where possible they worked to use that as a template adjusted for visit changes and wage inflation to a certain extent. That roadmap of sorts should help us as we finish the year.

讓我們來談談我們展望未來時所做的一些調整。本季度，營運團隊回顧並將我們的診所重新映射到 2021 年的位置。為什麼是2021年？那是新冠疫情爆發的第一年，也是相當艱難的一年。在可能的情況下，他們會努力將其用作模板，並在一定程度上根據訪問變化和工資通膨進行調整。這種路線圖應該可以幫助我們完成今年的任務。

Excuse me one second, to better understand this and why it’s taken us a little longer than normal to be able to fully address it, for the most part we’re talking about small daily cost numbers. Now with approximately 750 facilities, the difference each day of just $50 in total cost increase, that’s across salary, hours, goods and services, rent, electricity, the list goes on. Difference of only $50 aggregates quickly to $9.5 million over the course of the year.

請稍等片刻，為了更好地理解這一點，以及為什麼我們花了比平時更長的時間才能夠完全解決這個問題，在大多數情況下，我們談論的是每日的小額成本數字。現在大約有 750 個設施，每天的總成本僅增加 50 美元，包括工資、工時、商品和服務、租金、電費等等。一年下來，光是 50 美元的差額就迅速累積到 950 萬美元。

So our team is down in the weeds pruning and pulling very carefully so as not to disturb the flowers. Fruit of what we’re trying to do which is to take great care of our patients and ensure we have the right available resources to do that on a consistent basis. So it’s tedious work but just like in a beautiful garden it’s necessary work.

因此，我們的團隊在雜草叢中小心地修剪和拔除，以免打擾花朵。我們努力的成果是精心照顧我們的病人，並確保我們有適當的可用資源來持續做到這一點。所以這是一項繁瑣的工作，但就像在一個美麗的花園裡一樣，這是必要的工作。

And once through won’t be enough, it will have to be repeated often to ensure we maintain our clinical garden in the way that we desire, bearing great fruit in terms of continued visit and referral growth, fueled by patients and physicians alike who have a great experience as a result of our care and service, while being careful to have the right resource allocation. It’s a tough balancing act for sure.

一次完成是不夠的，還需要經常重複，以確保我們以我們想要的方式維護我們的臨床花園，在患者和醫生的共同推動下，在持續的訪問和轉診增長方面取得豐碩成果。的關懷和服務獲得良好的體驗，同時注意正確的資源配置。這確實是一個艱難的平衡行為。

So even though that took a good deal of time this past quarter to sort through, a gross profit excluding closure cost increased 14.5% from prior year’s third quarter and a gross margin for PT increased 90 basis points to 18.9%. Not yet where we want it to be but moving in the right direction.

因此，儘管上個季度花費了大量時間來整理，但扣除關閉成本的毛利仍比去年同期增加了 14.5%，PT 的毛利率增加了 90 個基點，達到 18.9%。雖然還沒有達到我們想要的水平，但我們正在朝著正確的方向前進。

Before I wrap up, let me speak to one thing that I think some of our investors have been concerned with since we did our capital raise late spring of last year and that has been our pace of deployment of those funds by way of acquisitions.

在結束之前，我想先談談自從我們去年春末籌集資金以來一些投資者一直關心的一件事，那就是我們透過收購來部署這些資金的速度。

As many of you may remember when we raised that money, we said we would be disciplined in deploying it with partners whom we believe would be a great long-term fit for our company, sharing our values around the importance of people delivering great patient care.

你們中的許多人可能還記得，當我們籌集這筆資金時，我們說過，我們將嚴格地將其部署給我們認為與我們公司長期合作的合作夥伴，分享我們的價值觀，即為患者提供優質護理的重要性。

I will tell you that way it has been worth it. Partnerships we have acquired this year, strengthening our core injury prevention business and the PT partnerships we have acquired over these past 17 months have been and will be outstanding additions to our company.

我會告訴你這是值得的。我們今年建立的合作夥伴關係加強了我們的核心傷害預防業務，而我們在過去 17 個月中建立的 PT 合作夥伴關係已經並將繼續成為我們公司的傑出補充。

For the longest time we waited on New York, that patient has paid off in a big way with our partnership with the Metro PT team. Those guys are on fire to deliver strong growth and exceptional care and we are excited to work alongside them and all of our partners to make a difference to our patients, as well as our shareholders.

我們在紐約等待了很長時間，透過與 Metro PT 團隊的合作，我們為這位患者獲得了巨大的回報。這些人熱衷於實現強勁成長和提供卓越護理，我們很高興與他們以及我們所有的合作夥伴一起努力，為我們的患者和股東帶來改變。

Sometimes it takes us a little time but this team generally does what we say we are going to do. We appreciate your patience as we work to build a sustainable and bright future for us, our partners and staff, and certainly for all of our patients and companies who count on us to show up and deliver results for them every day. So thank you.

有時我們需要花一些時間，但這個團隊通常都會照我們說的去做。我們感謝您的耐心，我們正在努力為我們、我們的合作夥伴和員工，以及所有指望我們每天出現並為他們提供成果的患者和公司建立一個可持續的美好未來。所以謝謝你。

That concludes my prepared comments at least until we open things up for questions. So, Carey, you always do such a good job of covering the intricate details of our overall quarter and year-to-date financial performance. So I’m handing you the ball.

至少在我們開始提問之前，我的準備好的評論到此結束。所以，Carey，你總是能很好地涵蓋我們整個季度和年初至今財務表現的複雜細節。所以我把球遞給你。

Great. Thank you, Chris, and good morning, everyone. I will start with a few highlights and notes inside of our third quarter results. Our net rate, as Chris mentioned, increased again in the third quarter to $105.65 per visit. That’s the highest our net rate has been since late 2020 which was prior to the four consecutive years of Medicare rate reductions by CMS which also at that time benefited from a 2% sequestration rate relief.

偉大的。謝謝你，克里斯，大家早安。我首先會介紹一下我們第三季業績中的幾個亮點和註釋。正如克里斯所提到的，我們的淨費率在第三季再次上漲至每次造訪 105.65 美元。這是自 2020 年底以來我們的淨費率的最高水平，而 CMS 此前四年一直下調醫療保險費率，CMS 當時還受益於 2% 的自動減免費率。

Our average visits per day in the third quarter were a record high for a third quarter at 30.1. Our contract labor costs decreased by $600,000 from the second quarter to the third quarter and our PT margin improved by 90 basis points over the third quarter of last year.

我們第三季的每日平均訪問量達到了 30.1，創下了第三季的歷史新高。我們的合約勞動成本從第二季到第三季減少了 60 萬美元，我們的 PT 利潤率比去年第三季提高了 90 個基點。

We optimized our portfolio with the closure of 32 clinics which will improve our metrics going forward and will also allow our ops team to focus on growth initiatives and acquisition opportunities. And then our IIP business grew more than 13% in the third quarter even before adding the acquisition that we made earlier this year.

我們關閉了 32 家診所，優化了我們的投資組合，這將改善我們未來的指標，也將使我們的營運團隊能夠專注於成長計畫和收購機會。在我們今年稍早進行收購之前，我們的 IIP 業務在第三季成長了 13% 以上。

We reported adjusted EBITDA for the third quarter of 2024 of $21.1 million, compared to $18.6 million in the prior year. Our adjusted EBITDA margin was 15.5% in the third quarter of this year which was up slightly from 15.3% in the third quarter of last year.

我們報告 2024 年第三季的調整後 EBITDA 為 2,110 萬美元，而去年同期為 1,860 萬美元。我們今年第三季的調整後 EBITDA 利潤率為 15.5%，略高於去年第三季的 15.3%。

Our operating results were $10.4 million in the third quarter of 2024, an increase of $1.2 million or 12.4% over the third quarter of 2023. On a per share basis, operating results were $0.69 in the third quarter of this year versus $0.62 in the third quarter of last year.

2024 年第三季度，我們的經營業績為 1,040 萬美元，比 2023 年第三季增加 120 萬美元，成長 12.4%。以每股計算，今年第三季的營業利潤為 0.69 美元，去年第三季的營業利潤為 0.62 美元。

Our average visits per clinic per day, as I mentioned, was 30.1. That was the highest volume for a third quarter in the company’s history. July and August were both at 29.9, consistent with our seasonal patterns for summer months. And then September increased to 30.7. Each of those months was a record high volume for that particular month, July, August and September.

正如我剛才所說，我們每個診所每天的平均就診人數為 30.1 人次。這是該公司史上第三季的最高銷量。七月和八月均為 29.9，與夏季的季節模式一致。9月份則上升至30.7。 7月、8月和9月，每個月的銷售量都創下了歷史新高。

Our net rate of $105.65 in the third quarter of 2024 was $3.28 per visit or 3.2% higher than the third quarter of last year even with the 1.8% Medicare rate reduction that by CMS that was put into effect at the beginning of 2024. If you exclude Medicare, our rate was at $4.17 per visit or 3.9% over the third quarter of last year. The increase was largely related to our continuing strategic priority of increasing reimbursement rates through contract negotiations with commercial and other payers and our focus on growing our workers’ confidence.

我們 2024 年第三季的淨費率為 105.65 美元，每次就診 3.28 美元，比去年第三季高出 3.2%，即使 CMS 在 2024 年初實施了 1.8% 的醫療保險費率下調。如果不計入醫療保險，我們的費率為每次就診 4.17 美元，比去年第三季成長了 3.9%。這一成長主要與我們持續的策略重點有關，即透過與商業和其他付款人的合約談判來提高報銷率，以及我們致力於增強工人的信心。

We’re also focused on maximizing our cash collections through improvements in our revenue cycle management. Each major category of payers increased year-over-year. And workers’ comp, which is one of our highest rate categories, continues to increase as the percentage of revenue mix, moving from 9.6% of our revenue in the third quarter of 2023 to 10.4% in the third quarter of 2024, and it was also up on a sequential basis, increasing from 10.1% in the second quarter of 2024 to 10.4% in the third quarter of this year. These rate enhancing initiatives remain a high priority for us.

我們也致力於透過改善收入週期管理來最大限度地增加現金收集量。各主要付款人類別均較去年同期增加。工傷補償是我們費率最高的類別之一，其在收入結構中的佔比繼續增加，從 2023 年第三季的 9.6% 上升至 2024 年第三季的 10.4%，並且環比也呈上升趨勢，從2024 年第二季的10.1% 上升至今年第三季的10.4%。這些提高利率的舉措對我們來說仍然是重中之重。

Physical therapy revenues were $142.7 million in the third quarter of 2024, an increase of $12.2 million or 9.3% from the third quarter of last year. The increase was driven by our higher net rate, an increase in visits in our mature clinics, as well as having 21 more clinics on average in the third quarter of 2024 than we had in the third quarter of 2023.

2024 年第三季的物理治療收入為 1.427 億美元，比去年第三季增加 1,220 萬美元或 9.3%。成長的原因是我們的淨利率更高、成熟診所的就診量增加，以及 2024 年第三季比 2023 年第三季平均診所數量增加了 21 家。

Physical therapy operating costs were $119.2 million, which includes $3.4 million of closure costs related to the 32 clinics that we closed during the third quarter. Excluding closure costs, our PT expenses were $115.8 million, which was up 8.2% from prior year due to having 21 more clinics on average than in the third quarter of last year.

物理治療營運成本為 1.192 億美元，其中包括與我們在第三季關閉的 32 家診所相關的 340 萬美元的關閉成本。除關閉成本外，我們的 PT 費用為 1.158 億美元，比上年增長 8.2%，原因是與去年第三季相比，平均診所數量增加了 21 家。

On a per visit basis, our salaries and related costs were $62.47 in the third quarter of 2024. That compares to $60.35 in the third quarter of 2023, which is an increase of 3.5%. When you look at our total operating costs, they increased just 2.2%, moving from $84.47 in the third quarter of 2023 to $86.37 in the third quarter of this year.

按每次訪問計算，2024 年第三季我們的工資和相關費用為 62.47 美元。相比之下，2023 年第三季為 60.35 美元，成長了 3.5%。當您查看我們的總營運成本時，它們僅增加了 2.2%，從 2023 年第三季的 84.47 美元增加到今年第三季的 86.37 美元。

Our PT margin was 18.9%, excluding closure costs in the third quarter, up from 18.0% in the third quarter of last year.

扣除第三季的關閉成本，我們的業績利潤率為 18.9%，高於去年第三季的 18.0%。

As Chris mentioned, our IIP team produced excellent growth in the third quarter. Our IIP net revenues were up $5.8 million or almost 30% over the third quarter of 2023, with IIP income up $1.2 million or 27.1% over the prior year. Excluding the IIP acquisition we made earlier this year, our net revenues were still up 12.9%, but our gross profit up 13.2% and our IIP margin was a very healthy 22.2%.

正如克里斯所提到的，我們的 IIP 團隊在第三季取得了出色的成長。我們的 IIP 淨收入比 2023 年第三季增長了 580 萬美元，增幅近 30%，其中 IIP 收入比上年增長了 120 萬美元，增幅為 27.1%。不計今年稍早收購的 IIP，我們的淨收入仍成長 12.9%，但毛利成長 13.2%，IIP 利潤率達到非常健康的 22.2%。

Our corporate office costs are in line for both the third quarter and the full year. Through the first nine months of 2024, our corporate costs were 8.7% of net revenue, as compared to 8.5% in the first nine months of 2023.

我們的公司辦公室成本與第三季和全年持平。截至 2024 年前 9 個月，我們的公司成本佔淨收入的 8.7%，而 2023 年前 9 個月為 8.5%。

Our balance sheet continues to be in an excellent position. We have $140.6 million of debt on our term loan, with a swap agreement in place that places the rate on our debt at 4.7%, which, as you know, is a very favorable rate in today’s market and well below the current Fed funds rate. Under that swap, our one-month term SOFR is fixed at 2.8% and that extends to the middle of 2027. In addition to the term loan, we also have a $175 million revolving credit facility that had nothing drawn on it during the third quarter.

我們的資產負債表繼續處於良好狀態。我們的定期貸款債務為1.406 億美元，我們已簽訂了一項掉期協議，將我們的債務利率定為4.7%，正如你所知，這在當今市場上是一個非常優惠的利率，遠低於當前聯邦基金利率。根據該掉期，我們的一個月期限 SOFR 固定為 2.8%，並延續至 2027 年中期。除了定期貸款外，我們還有 1.75 億美元的循環信貸額度，第三季沒有動用任何資金。

Our cash balance at the end of September was $117 million, with approximately $90 million of that cash available for acquisitions and other growth initiatives. As we’ve announced, we used $75 million from the Metro acquisition, which we made on October 31st, leaving us with approximately $15 million in available cash before we have to draw on our revolving credit facility. We have deployed, so far this year, $117 million of cash into acquisitions.

我們九月底的現金餘額為 1.17 億美元，其中約 9,000 萬美元可用於收購和其他成長計畫。正如我們所宣布的，我們使用了 10 月 31 日收購 Metro 時獲得的 7500 萬美元，在動用循環信貸額度之前，我們還剩下大約 1500 萬美元的可用現金。今年迄今為止，我們已投入 1.17 億美元現金用於收購。

We continue to expect our EBITDA to come within the range previously provided, at $80 million to $85 million. There’s no update to guidance. Our volumes have continued strong in the early part of the fourth quarter, with October trending similarly to September. And the recent measures we’ve taken to impact expenses and optimize our portfolio are important steps in keeping our cost structure in proper alignment and focusing our efforts on areas with the greatest potential impact.

我們繼續預計我們的 EBITDA 將在先前提供的範圍內，即 8000 萬美元至 8500 萬美元。指導意見沒有更新。我們的銷售在第四季度初繼續保持強勁，十月份的趨勢與九月相似。我們最近採取的旨在影響費用和優化投資組合的措施是保持成本結構合理並將我們的努力集中在最具潛在影響的領域的重要步驟。

And finally, we’re excited about the recent acquisition of Metro Physical Therapy in New York, even beyond its initial significant contribution. They have a great team and they’re a great fit with USPH, and we expect Metro to be an excellent growth engine for us in the years ahead.

最後，我們對最近收購紐約 Metro Physical Therapy 感到非常興奮，這甚至超越了其最初的重大貢獻。他們擁有一支優秀的團隊，與 USPH 非常契合，我們期待 Metro 在未來幾年成為我們卓越的成長引擎。

And with that, Chris, I’ll turn the call back to you, and we’ll take questions after.

說完這些，克里斯，我將把電話轉回給你，然後我們再回答問題。

Thanks, Carey. Okay, Operator, we’ll go ahead and open the line for questions.

謝謝，凱裡。好的，接線員，我們將繼續解答您的問題。

Absolutely. (Operator Instructions)

絕對地。（操作員指令）

We’ll take our first question from Brian Tanquilutit with Jefferies. Please go ahead. Your line is open.

我們的第一個問題來自 Jefferies 的 Brian Tanquilutit。請繼續。您的線路已開通。

Good morning. Brian.

早安.布萊恩。

Good morning, guys. Good morning. So maybe, Chris, I’ll just ask you about these moves that you’ve made, exiting some markets and some of the labor initiatives that you’ve put in place. So how should we be thinking about the flow-through impact of these over the next six months to 12 months, number one? And then are you thinking of any incremental moves, whether it’s further evaluations of markets and clinics or anything else in the labor front that you can walk us through in terms of what those moves exactly are?

大家早安。早安.所以，克里斯，也許我只想問你關於你所採取的這些舉措，退出一些市場和你實施的一些勞工舉措。那麼，首先，我們應該如何考慮這些因素在未來 6 個月到 12 個月內產生的流通影響？那麼，您是否考慮採取任何漸進式舉措，無論是對市場和診所的進一步評估，還是勞動力方面的任何其他舉措，您能否向我們介紹一下這些舉措具體是什麼？

Sure. I would say give us a little time to let some of these changes kind of flow through. So I think the bigger impact is next year, particularly, well, in two areas. One, we won’t have any of the aggregate drain of those facilities, but more importantly probably than anything is that we’ll have the time and attention freed up from our very important ops team, so they can focus on our partnerships and our partners who are better positioned to grow. So that’s kind of the overall view.

當然。我想說，給我們一點時間，讓這些改變順利進行。所以我認為更大的影響是在明年，特別是在兩個領域。首先，我們不會對那些設施造成任何總體消耗，但更重要的是，我們將從我們非常重要的營運團隊中解放出時間和精力，這樣他們就可以專注於我們的合作夥伴關係以及我們更有能力實現成長的合作夥伴。這就是總體觀點。

In terms of will there ever, is there ever, could there be other markets and times where we make adjustments, and the answer to that is absolutely. This is an evolving thing and we have to respond. People business, number one. People aren’t like numbers. Things ebb and flow, and sometimes they change over time. The good news is with many of these facilities, we’ve had them for many, many years, and they’ve been with us for a long time and they’ve done well.

至於我們是否會在其他市場和時間做出調整，答案是肯定的。這是一個不斷發展的事物，我們必須做出反應。人力事務是第一位的。人並不像數字。事物有起有落，有時甚至會隨著時間而改變。好消息是，我們已經擁有這些設施很多年了，它們與我們在一起很長時間，而且運作良好。

And at this point, you know, we see a better opportunity to carry forward with time and focus in other areas, but we’ll continue to have what we think is a disciplined pruning process, if that’s the right term. And -- but I think we’ve gotten a heavy lift of that done and some of these facilities will sell and we’re in the process of doing that, and so that’ll further help us just as we position ourselves for the right resources as we go forward.

而在這一點上，你知道，我們看到了更好的機會來繼續前進並專注於其他領域，但我們將繼續進行我們認為的有紀律的修剪過程，如果這是正確的說法的話。而且——但我認為我們已經完成了大部分工作，其中一些設施將出售，我們正在這樣做，這將進一步幫助我們定位自己在我們前進的過程中尋找正確的資源。

That makes sense. And then maybe just on the Metro acquisition, Carey, number one, is that going to be consolidated going forward? And then maybe, Chris, for you, given the size of that deal, it’s larger than what you’ve normally been doing, how should we be thinking about your appetite and capability to do chunk deals at least for the next 12 months as you work on the integration of this asset? Thanks.

這很有道理。然後也許只是關於 Metro 的收購，Carey，第一，它在未來會合併嗎？那麼克里斯，考慮到這筆交易的規模，它比你通常做的要大，我們應該如何看待你至少在下一階段做大宗交易的興趣和能力？資產？謝謝。

Yeah. Brian, I’ll just say, yes, we do expect to be able to consolidate Metro into all of our metrics, our revenue, expenses, all along our P&L. Yes.

是的。布萊恩，我只能說，是的，我們確實希望能夠將 Metro 整合到我們的所有指標、收入、支出以及損益表中。是的。

And then, the answer to the question, Brian, is really about what’s the right fit. So, I think, we’re going to be well-positioned because the Metro team’s in really good shape. They have a great team. They have a great plan on the year. We certainly are in the middle and have been in the middle of integration-related things even before the deal closed. We were on the ground, had people on the ground working on some key things.

那麼，布萊恩，這個問題的答案實際上是關於什麼是最合適的。所以我認為，我們將處於有利地位，因為 Metro 團隊的狀態非常好。他們有一支出色的團隊。他們今年有一個偉大的計劃。我們當然正處於這一階段，甚至在交易完成前就已經處於整合相關事宜的階段。我們在實地，派人在實地處理一些關鍵的事情。

So, it really depends on what becomes available, I think. And we don’t have anything today, immediately, that we’re working on that’s of the same size. But if there was something that came along that ended up like Metro, will be and is, which is a great fit, then sure, we have the resources and I think the appetite to tackle it.

所以我認為這確實取決於有哪些可用資源。而我們目前還沒有任何正在進行的同等規模的項目。但如果出現了像 Metro 這樣的項目，並且能夠很好地契合，那麼我們當然有資源，也有意願去解決這個問題。

Now, whether that happens in the next 12 months or not, we’ll have to see. But we’re still working on good things. We have other things that we expect to get done this year and into the early part of next year that are kind of typical for us. And certainly de novo expansions and a lot of planned expansion within the Metro partnership as well. So, I don’t see us changing our tact. It’s just about looking for the right fit at the right time.

現在，我們還要拭目以待，看看這在未來 12 個月內是否會發生。但我們仍在努力做善事。我們預計今年和明年年初還會完成其他一些事情，這對我們來說很常見。當然，還有 Metro 合作夥伴關係內的全新擴張和大量計畫擴張。因此，我認為我們不會改變我們的策略。這只是在正確的時間尋找正確的匹配。

I agree with that. Thank you.

我同意這一點。謝謝。

Thanks, Brian.

謝謝，布萊恩。

We’ll take our next question from Joanna Gajuk with Bank of America. Please go ahead. Your line is open.

下一個問題由美國銀行的 Joanna Gajuk 提出。請繼續。您的線路已開通。

Hi, good morning, Joanna.

嗨，早上好，喬安娜。

Hi. Good morning. Thanks so much for taking the question. So, first, I guess, just to make sure to confirm this, since you did not mention the guidance or should I read it as no change to your EBITDA guidance for the year?

你好。早安.非常感謝您回答這個問題。因此，首先，我想，只是為了確保確認這一點，因為您沒有提到指導，或者我應該將其理解為您今年的 EBITDA 指導沒有變化？

That’s right. Yeah. We still expect it to come within the range we previously provided of $80 million to $85 million.

沒錯。是的。我們仍然預計它會在我們之前提供的 8000 萬到 8500 萬美元的範圍內。

And also to confirm, this Metro acquisition we were talking about, was that already contemplated in this guidance range?

另外要確認的是，我們正在談論的這次 Metro 收購是否已經包含在這個指導範圍內？

Yes, it was.

是的。

So, if I do the math, the rough math, I guess, for EBITDA versus NIC [ph], right, so adjusted EBITDA number, so this deal adds maybe a $1 million or so, right, and you still have some clinics in there, but it sounds like you’re including that deal. So, I guess, that’s why no change in the guidance rate. And if I may just follow up on the Metro acquisition. So, you mentioned, clearly, better metrics. We know the margins here are higher than USPH. Can you give us a little bit of color what’s driving that? Is it because they are management companies, there’s a cost structure or there’s something market-specific that’s driving the better metrics for that asset?

所以，如果我做個數學題，粗略地算一下，EBITDA 與NIC [ph] 的對比，對吧，調整後的EBITDA 數字，這筆交易可能增加了100 萬美元左右，對吧，而且你仍然有一些診所但聽起來你包括了那筆交易。所以，我猜，這就是指導利率沒有改變的原因。我可以跟進一下 Metro 收購的情況嗎？所以，你顯然提到了更好的指標。我們知道這裡的利潤率比 USPH 高。您能否向我們稍微解釋一下造成這種情況的原因？是因為他們是管理公司，有成本結構，或是某些市場特定因素推動了該資產的更好指標？

Yeah, they have, go ahead, go ahead.

是的，他們有，繼續，繼續。

No, that's right. I was.

不，沒錯。是的。

I was just going to say, they have larger clinics than us, for the most part, so than the rest of our portfolio on average. So, they run somewhere between 45 visits per day and 47.5 visits per day. So, that’ll obviously have some upward pressure on our average visits per clinic per day. Their net rate is pretty similar to ours, so there won’t be a whole lot of change there. Their margin, they have a full support system at Metro that, with their support team from a finance perspective, their billing and collections, and all of those things. So, the margin is actually pretty similar to ours from an adjusted EBITDA margin standpoint and that’ll all be in our PT line. So, it may -- it’ll be pretty similar to the rest of the margin for the group.

我只是想說，大多數情況下，他們的診所規模都比我們大，因此平均而言，也比我們投資組合中的其他診所規模大。因此，他們每天的訪問量在 45 次到 47.5 次之間。所以，這顯然會對我們診所每天的平均就診量產生一定的上行壓力。他們的淨利率與我們的非常相似，所以不會有太大的變化。他們的利潤，他們在 Metro 擁有完整的支援系統，從財務角度來看，他們的支援團隊負責他們的帳單和收款，以及所有這些事情。因此，從調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率的角度來看，利潤率實際上與我們的利潤非常相似，而這些都在我們的 PT 線內。因此，它可能——它將與該集團其他部分的利潤非常相似。

Okay. Thank you. And I know you don’t have a guidance for next year, but our next question will be, so now we know this acquisition at a close, so that’s good to know it now. But other than that, any, I guess, tailwinds and headwinds to think about as we think about next year? I guess we have the final Medicare date update, but anything else we should be thinking about to think about next year? Thank you.

好的。謝謝。我知道你對明年還沒有做出預期，但我們的下一個問題是，現在我們知道這項收購已經結束，所以現在知道這一點很好。但除此之外，我想，當我們展望明年時，還有什麼順風逆風需要考慮嗎？我想我們已經有了最終的醫療保險日期更新，但是明年我們還應該考慮其他事情嗎？謝謝。

Yeah. Not that I know of. I mean, the most recent thing is the Medicare final rule update, which, as you know, we know all too well, has been typically on an annual basis and further modified by Congress, all of which is in motion and shifting sands, as we speak right now, as a result of the election last night. And so, that’s all going to have to shake out. Other than that, I don’t know of anything that is on the horizon, plus or minus that is material for next year.

是的。據我所知沒有。我的意思是，最近發生的事情是醫療保險最終規則的更新，正如你所知，我們非常清楚，它通常每年都會被國會進一步修改，所有這些都在不斷變化和變化，因為我們現在談論的是昨晚選舉的結果。所以，這一切都必須解決。除此之外，我不知道接下來會發生什麼，無論這對明年來說是什麼重要的事情。

Right. And of course, we’ll benefit from the full year’s performance of some of the acquisitions we’ve made. And Metro, in particular, we have two months this year. We’ll have 12 months next year and that’s a significant acquisition. So, that’ll be an add to our 2025.

正確的。當然，我們也將受益於一些收購的全年業績。尤其是 Metro，今年我們有兩個月的時間。明年我們將有 12 個月，這是一項重大的收購。所以，這將會是對我們的 2025 的一個補充。

And let me -- Joanne, let me add one thing, and Carey made a couple of good points. One of the things that’s really helped us a lot this year and it’s taken us a little time, but we’ve really made good progress around net rate. The team’s done an excellent job. We continue to get pretty meaningful increases in key contracts that haven’t started yet. And so, we continue to be hopeful that we can see rate lift.

喬安妮，讓我補充一點，凱裡提出了幾個很好的觀點。其中一件事是今年真正對我們幫助很大的，雖然我們花了一點時間，但我們在淨利率方面確實取得了良好的進展。該團隊表現出色。我們尚未開始的重要合約繼續獲得相當可觀的成長。因此，我們繼續希望看到利率上升。

The other area that’s been particularly strong, and I just really want to give a shout out to the people who’ve worked on this, they’ve done an excellent job, is in our work comp area. Carey shared with you some of the% change numbers, and I think in those, while those were 100% accurate, I think it gets lost in the shuffle a little bit.

另一個表現特別強勁的領域是我們的工傷補償領域，我真的很想對那些在這個領域工作的人表示感謝，他們做得非常出色。凱裡 (Carey) 與您分享了一些百分比變化數字，我認為，雖然這些數字 100% 準確，但我認為它們在混亂中有些被忽略了。

Our work comp visits increased on a year-over-year basis a little more than 16.5% compared to third quarter last year. It’s a pretty strong increase. Our revenue for work comp increased just under 19% on a year-over-year basis, because the rate in the work comp space also increased as a result of the work that the team has done. And so, we’re hoping that combination, obviously is giving us some continued, giving us the lift that we’ve enjoyed so far and will continue to give us some continued lift as we go forward.

與去年第三季相比，我們的工傷賠償訪問量年增了 16.5% 多一點。這是一個相當強勁的成長。我們的工傷補償收入年增了近 19％，因為由於團隊所做的工作，工傷補償率也增加了。所以，我們希望這種結合顯然能夠為我們帶來一些持續的推動力，為我們帶來迄今為止所享受到的推動力，並將在我們前進的過程中繼續為我們帶來一些持續的推動力。

So, if I may, a last follow-up on the last comment, because it just begs the question there. So, where should we expect these workers comp next year to get to, I guess, there was a time, years ago where you were maybe more like 14% workers comp, so is that achievable or should we just kind of continue to grow from this goal at 10.5% going forward and maybe over time get there, but maybe not? So, any color, I guess, how do you think about where it could get to? Thank you.

因此，如果可以的話，我想對最後一條評論做最後一次跟進，因為它只是引出了一個問題。那麼，我們應該預期明年的工人補償會達到什麼水準？為10.5%，也許隨著時間的推移可以實現，但也可能不能？所以，我猜是任何顏色，您認為它會到達哪裡？謝謝。

I wish I had a really, really clear, great crystal ball. I don’t. All I can tell you is the team has been focused on it. We’ve discussed it with all of you that it’s a focus. We put it out there that we were going to move the needle. The needle’s definitely moving and it’s moving in the right direction at an outsized rate, and where we end up, I don’t honestly know. I’d be making up a number, which I’m not going to do.

我希望我有一個非常非常清晰的大水晶球。我不知道。我可以告訴你的是團隊一直專注於此。我們已經與大家討論過，這是一個重點。我們已經表明，我們將會推動這一進程。指針確實在移動，並且正以驚人的速度朝著正確的方向移動，至於最終會走向何方，我真的不知道。我會編造一個數字，但我不會這麼做。

So, I think for now, where we are and that it’s changing slowly, and there are going to be things that happen in between in lots of different areas, some expected, some not, and so, just kind of mix it all together and I think the net overall is definitely more progress to be made.

所以，我認為就目前而言，我們所處的情況正在慢慢發生變化，在很多不同領域都會發生一些事情，有些是預料之中的，有些則不是，所以，只是有點混雜在一起總的來說，我認為網路整體上肯定還有很大的進步空間。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

We’ll take our next question from Larry Solow with CJS Securities. Please go ahead. Your line is open.

下一個問題由 CJS Securities 的 Larry Solow 提出。請繼續。您的線路已開通。

Hey, good morning. Hi, Larry.

嘿，早安。你好，拉里。

Hey. Good morning, Chris.

嘿。早上好，克里斯。

Good morning.

早安.

Hey. Good morning, Carey. I guess, just a few follow-ups on the pricing. So, the net rate this quarter, you said up 3%, and that obviously is not of a CMS decline. As these rates continue to pick up nicely sequentially, it feels like you’re building some good momentum, right? And it’s fair to say that, like you said, you have, I assume, annual kickers, too, in these things. So, is there -- are you more comfortable that we’re entering a period now where these, at least on the commercial side, rates should grow 2%, 3% a year? Is that like a fair multiyear outlook?

嘿。早上好，凱裡。我想，只需對定價進行一些後續跟進。所以，您說本季的淨利率上漲了 3%，這顯然不是 CMS 的下降。隨著這些利率持續連續良好上升，感覺就像是正在建立一些良好的勢頭，對嗎？公平地說，就像您說的，我認為，在這些事情上，您也有年度踢球者。那麼，您是否認為我們現在正進入一個時期，至少在商業方面，利率應該每年增長 2% 到 3%？這是否是一個公平的多年展望？

Carey, let me start with this, and then you can jump in. So…

凱裡，讓我先從這個開始，然後你就可以開始了。所以…

Yeah.

是的。

I would say, Larry, the rates that we’ve, just to be really clear, the rates, most of the rates that we’ve re-contracted, many have been a multiyear contract. So, it might be 4% or 5% in year one, and then 2% or 3% for two years or three years thereafter. I don’t know that many of the contracts have a perpetual annual increase associated with them. They’re contracted for a period of time and then they just renew after that, and we’ve got to go back and get after it again before these contracts expire. But for the near-term, many are going to have additional boosts, not all, but many. And so, that is helping us to offset the continued pressure, unfortunately, that we’re feeling from Medicare, at least for this one more year.

我想說，拉里，我們要非常清楚地說明的是，我們重新簽訂的大部分合約都是多年合約。因此，第一年可能是 4% 或 5%，之後兩年或三年可能是 2% 或 3%。我不知道許多合約是否都與年度永久性增長有關。他們的合約是簽了一段時間的，之後就再續約，我們必須在這些合約到期之前回去再處理這件事。但就短期而言，許多企業將獲得額外提振，雖然不是全部，但許多企業都會獲得額外提振。因此，這有助於我們抵消來自醫療保險的持續壓力，不幸的是，至少在今年是如此。

Right. And on that Medicare, so the 2.9%, right, I think it’s a 2.9% cut for you guys, right, or something like that. Is that what it works out to?

正確的。至於醫療保險，那是 2.9%，對吧，我想對你們來說這是 2.9% 的削減，對吧，或者類似的。這就是它的作用嗎？

Yeah. It’s just under 3%...

是的。略低於 3%...

Right. So, it’s very code-specific, so.

正確的。所以，它是非常特定於程式碼的，所以。

Right. And assuming, there may or may not be some congressional action, obviously, there’s been in the last few years. I feel like there probably, there’s a good chance, reasonable chance there will be, but let’s just assume it could be a similar rate decline to what we’re seeing this year. Any thoughts, from a high level, I’ve heard from various sources that this should be the last year, right, on the physician fee schedule and any thoughts as we look out, 2026 and beyond, that hopefully Medicare, which historically has been more of a little bit of a good guy for you guys, at least becomes neutral?

正確的。並且假設國會可能會或可能不會採取一些行動，顯然，過去幾年國會確實採取了一些行動。我覺得很有可能，很有可能會有這種情況，但我們只能假設利率下降的幅度與今年的幅度相似。我從各種管道聽說，今年應該是最後一年了，對吧，關於醫生收費表，我們展望 2026 年及以後，希望醫療保險能夠像歷史上一樣對你們來說更像是一個好人，至少變得中立了？

Yeah. I think so. I mean, look, trying also to predict what the government’s going to do is, it’s been kind of a foolish business, but yeah, this should be the last year and we believe it’ll be the last year, and nobody we talked to in Congress thinks these cuts were right to begin with.

是的。我認為是這樣。我的意思是，看看，試圖預測政府會做什麼，這有點愚蠢，但是，是的，這應該是最後一年，我們相信這將是最後一年但我們在國會採訪過的人中沒有人認為這些削減從一開始就是正確的。

In fact, they were based on all the assumptions that medtech now admits erroneous assumptions that were unintended. We ended up with the unintended consequences, and so I can’t see that they’re going to perpetuate that, but we’ll have to wait and see.

事實上，它們基於的所有假設都是醫療技術現在承認的非故意的錯誤假設。我們最終遭遇了意想不到的後果，因此我不認為他們會繼續這種做法，但我們必須拭目以待。

Unfortunately, Medicare is a year-to-year thing and really should be probably a two-year or three-year rolling kind of a look so that companies like ours had the opportunity to know what the landscape was going to look like. It’s not that way yet, but we’re expecting this to be the last year that, we have a headwind there, for sure.

不幸的是，醫療保險是一項逐年進行的工作，實際上應該是兩年或三年的滾動式審視，以便像我們這樣的公司有機會了解未來的情況。目前還沒有出現這種情況，但我們預計，這肯定會是我們面臨逆風的最後一年。

Good. Good. We’ll cross our fingers there. On the volumes, Chris, obviously, at a record high, so I can’t complain, per se, but only up about 1%-ish in the last couple quarters and I think flash for the year. It was a little bit of a difficult comp in the beginning of the year, but is that more like what you’ve had bigger volume growth as we look over the last 10 years, probably average more like 2% to 3%? Does that just kind of move around a little bit? I know you had some staffing challenges, too, which may be led to some inability to meet all the demand, but just any thoughts on volume as we look forward?

好的。好的。我們將在那裡祈禱。就交易量而言，克里斯，顯然，創下了歷史新高，所以我不能抱怨，但在過去幾個季度裡只增長了約 1%，我認為今年的增長速度很快。今年年初的比較有些困難，但是否更接近過去 10 年的銷售成長情況，大概平均成長 2% 到 3% 左右？那是不是只是稍微動了一下？我知道你們也遇到了一些人員配備方面的挑戰，這可能導致無法滿足所有需求，但對於我們未來的數量有什麼看法嗎？

Yeah. And Larry, I don’t have it at my fingertips, and I’m trying to remember what same store was this quarter. I thought it was two-something. But, yeah, you’re right.

是的。拉里，我手頭上沒有這些信息，我正試圖回憶本季的同一家商店。我以為是兩件事情。但是，是的，你是對的。

No. It was about 2.5% of the volumes.

不。約佔總銷量的2.5%。

Yeah. No question. I’d love for that to be 3.5%. Staffing, it’s tight right now.

是的。毫無疑問。我希望這個數字是 3.5%。目前人員配備十分緊張。

Right.

正確的。

It’s tight everywhere, and at the same time, as you heard, we’re trying to balance, not having resources that are standing around with good patient demand and trying to hone that in because small dollars aggregate pretty quickly and so it’s a little bit tricky. But I can tell you the team’s working very, very hard to create that, to keep that demand up and to create that growth. We are where we are right now and we’ve had a lot to deal with in terms of rate pressure and response on that side and cost pressure and response on that side, and I think, all in all, it’s been perfect. It’s not perfect, but not too bad, either. It’s been pretty good, net-net, so we continue to work hard at that and none of us are satisfied with where we are. We have things that we can do better and we’re working hard at, so that will continue to be one of them.

到處都很緊張，同時，正如你所聽到的，我們正在努力保持平衡，沒有閒置的資源來滿足患者的需求，並試圖磨練這一點，因為小額資金的積累速度非常快，所以這有點棘手。但我可以告訴你，團隊正在非常非常努力地創造這種需求，以維持這種需求並創造這種成長。我們現在處於這樣的境地，在利率壓力和反應、成本壓力和反應方面，我們有很多事情要處理，我認為，總的來說，完美的。它並不完美，但也不是太糟。整體來說，一切都還不錯，所以我們會繼續努力，但我們對目前的狀況都不滿意。我們還有一些事情可以做得更好，我們也在努力工作，所以這將繼續是其中之一。

Great. Thanks. I appreciate the call.

偉大的。謝謝。我很感謝您的來電。

Yes, sir. Thank you.

是的，先生。謝謝。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指令）

We’ll take our next question from Mike Petusky with Barrington Research. Please go ahead. Your line is open.

下一個問題由 Barrington Research 的 Mike Petusky 提出。請繼續。您的線路已開通。

Hey, Mike. Good morning.

嘿，麥克。早安.

Hey. Good morning, guys. Hey. Could you all give, just real quick, on housekeeping, the payer mix breakout, if you have it?

嘿。大家早安。嘿。如果有的話，您能否快速提供有關內務管理、付款人組合細分的資訊？

Sure.

當然。

Yeah. Hold on just one second. Let me get up in front of me. The third quarter is pretty typical. Commercial is 47%. Medicare is 33%, which is right in line with where it has been. As I mentioned, workers’ comp went up. It was 10.4%, and then, there’s everything else. There’s Medicaid, personal insurance, health pay, so pretty consistent. It’s very consistent with the second quarter, other than, workers’ comp inching up a little bit.

是的。稍等一下。讓我站在我面前。第三季相當典型。商業佔47%。醫療保險佔比為 33%，與先前水準一致。正如我剛才提到的，工人補償金增加了。佔比為 10.4%，此外還有其它一切。有醫療補助、個人保險、健康費用，所以相當穩定。除工人補償略有上漲外，其餘情況與第二季非常一致。

It was Medicaid somewhere around, like, 6%, something like that, 5%, 6%?

醫療補助大概是 6% 左右，大概是 5%、6% 左右？

No. It’s about 3.5% right now.

不。目前約為 3.5%。

Okay. Great. So…

好的。偉大的。所以…

Yeah. 6.5% Medicaid.

是的。6.5% 醫療補助。

Okay. So, curious on the, injury prevention business, Chris. This, obviously, the topline is great because of the M&A, but it’s also great ex the M&A double-digit growth and I’m just curious, I mean, is that new business? Are you getting deeper with earning customers? What’s driving that?

好的。所以，克里斯，我對傷害預防業務很好奇。顯然，由於併購，營收表現不錯，但除併購外，營收也實現了兩位數成長，我只是好奇，這是新業務嗎？您是否在更深層次地贏得客戶？是什麼原因導致的呢？

Yeah. Yeah. I would say yes and yes. So, new business and deeper with existing customers. The nice thing about this business is, and this is true of anything, it truly, truly works, and so it’s designed to save companies money. It does that. It does that on a very consistent basis and so typically, we’ll start with the company, maybe a national company, but we’ll start with one or two locations, and they tend to be the hardest, worst locations in terms of injury management or injury exposure, and we start with that and the team does a great job, and then we get embedded organic expansion kind of opportunities with that company based on the great job that the team has done.

是的。是的。我會說是的，是的。因此，我們可以與現有客戶建立更深入的新業務關係。這項業務的優點在於，對於任何事物都是如此，它確實有效，因此它的設計目的是為公司節省資金。它確實如此。我們會非常一致地這樣做，通常我們會從公司開始，可能是一家全國性的公司，但我們會從一兩個地點開始，而這些地點往往是最難、最糟糕的地點。傷病暴露，我們從這一點開始，團隊做得很好，然後我們根據團隊所做的出色工作，與該公司一起獲得嵌入式有機擴張的機會。

And then there are new companies, risk managers, and certain industries move between companies. They’ve had experience, and they’ve heard about us, and so we get brought in either on a direct basis or through an RFP process and win those opportunities. And again, I’m really proud that both teams have done a really good job this year. Our core team, our legacy team, their largest customer has decided to put us in every one of their locations around the country, and so, that’s been, we’re already in hundreds of locations, so that’s been a fantastic relationship.

然後還有新公司、新風險管理者，以及某些產業在公司之間流動。他們有經驗，也聽說過我們，所以我們直接或透過 RFP 流程與我們合作並贏得這些機會。我再次為兩支球隊今年的出色表現感到自豪。我們的核心團隊，我們的傳統團隊，他們最大的客戶已經決定把我們放在全國的每一個地點，所以，我們已經在數百個地點開展業務，所以一直是一段美妙的關係。

And then the other team, we have a lot of auto industry business. We’ve displaced one of the biggest providers in the injury prevention industry in their home state with a major auto manufacturer and that’s a 50 FTE book of business where we have 50 people now on site full time or nearly so within a given footprint. And so that’s a big win. That’s a new win. And so it’s really both.

然後另一個團隊，我們有很多汽車行業的業務。我們已經取代了他們所在州傷害預防行業最大的供應商之一，將其業務轉移至一家大型汽車製造商，這是一個50 FTE 的業務，目前我們有50 名全職員工在現場工作，或者在給定的時間內幾乎全職工作腳印。這是一個巨大的勝利。這是一個新的勝利。所以其實兩者兼而有之。

And so as you point out, we’ve done some very good acquisitions that have worked out really well for us that have opened and broadened not only our service delivery, the products and services that we are able to sell to industry, so it’s created more cross-selling opportunities, but it’s also increased our exposure in different industry verticals, so it may be that we were primarily in distribution and warehousing and now manufacturing and now auto manufacturing and now construction and transportation, and so once you get a footholder or a customer in each of those industry verticals, you open yourself up to a world of other people who think, okay, they understand my business, now maybe we can talk and so it’s been great overall. Like I said, really proud of both of those teams.

正如你所指出的，我們進行了一些非常好的收購，這些收購對我們非常有利，不僅開拓和拓寬了我們的服務交付，還擴大了我們能夠向行業銷售的產品和服務，所以創造了更多的交叉銷售機會，但也增加了我們在不同垂直行業的曝光度，所以可能我們以前主要從事分銷和倉儲，現在從事製造、汽車製造、建築和運輸，因此，一旦你在各個垂直行業中找到了立足點或客戶，你就會向其他人敞開心扉，他們會想，好吧，他們了解我的業務，現在也許我們可以談談，所以總的來說，這很棒。正如我所說的，我真的為這兩支球隊感到驕傲。

That’s fantastic. In terms of the Metro deal, I’m just curious, is there any ability for you guys to, I think, Carey may have said that the net rate is pretty favorable for Metro, but I’m just curious if there’s anything on the contracting side that you guys can bring to them where maybe your contracting is a little bit more favorable to certain insurers, just curious if there’s any opportunity for some uplift from your contracts? Thanks.

那太棒了。就 Metro 交易而言，我只是好奇，你們是否有能力，我想，Carey 可能說過，淨利率對 Metro 來說相當有利，但我只是好奇，在合約方面，你們能為他們提供什麼幫助嗎？也許你們的合約對某些保險公司更有利一些，只是好奇你們的合約是否有機會帶來一些提升？謝謝。

So, I will tell you that the Metro team did a great job historically and even leading up to our acquisition in terms of what they’ve done with their own contract rates. Now they have some additional resources that we can bring to bear with and for their team. Some of the rates that Metro has re-contracted haven’t really kicked in yet or just now kicking in or will kick in shortly.

所以，我要告訴你，從歷史上看，Metro 團隊做得非常出色，甚至在我們收購之前，他們在合約費率方面也做得非常出色。現在他們擁有了一些額外的資源，我們可以為他們的團隊提供協助。Metro 重新簽訂的部分費率實際上尚未生效、或剛剛生效、或即將生效。

And so, yeah, I think there’s some additional lift and we’re looking at that whole New York market very strategically to see how we can continue to add to that and time will tell based on our ability to execute on this, but I feel pretty confidently over a period of time, we can do really good things. But I will tell you that they themselves did the heavy lift so far and we’ll see if we can help them with that as they go forward.

所以，是的，我認為還有一些額外的提升，我們正在非常戰略性地審視整個紐約市場，看看我們如何繼續增加收入，時間將根據我們執行這項政策的能力來證明這一點。非常有信心，經過一段時間，我們可以做出非常好的事情。但我要告訴你們，到目前為止，他們自己已經做出了巨大的貢獻，我們會看看是否能夠在他們前進的過程中為他們提供幫助。

Very good. Last question for me, just in terms of the election results last night, is there anything that came out of that last night that makes you think that the U.S. Congress would be more or less likely to sort of do their typical week before Christmas action on the proposed reduction in reimbursement?

非常好。我的最後一個問題是，就昨晚的選舉結果而言，昨晚有什麼結果讓你認為美國國會在聖誕節前一周更有可能或更不可能採取他們典型的行動。

Yeah. That’s an interesting question and I kind of expected it, and I don’t really know how to answer it. We’ll see if both houses of Congress end up being Republican controlled. It looks like that’s going to happen.

是的。這是一個有趣的問題，我有點預料到了，但我真的不知道該如何回答。我們將拭目以待，看看國會兩院最終是否都會被共和黨控制。看起來這就要發生了。

Look, I’m not going to predict. I don’t know. I think they’re on the road and this isn’t a political statement by me in any way, shape or form, so I don’t want anybody to read into it. I think most of us understand that Republicans are more deficit-focused and smaller government-focused than their counterparts on the Democratic side of things.

瞧，我不會預測。我不知道。我認為他們正在路上，這絕不是我的政治聲明，所以我不想讓任何人解讀它。我想大多數人都明白，共和黨比民主黨更關注赤字和小政府。

So we’ve been in kind of a little bit of a more balanced relationship the last couple of years. That may change a bit as we go forward, and any time you have change, pieces get moved around, so I don’t know that I can predict.

因此，最近幾年我們的關係變得稍微平衡一些。隨著我們不斷前進，這種情況可能會發生一些變化，而且每當有變化時，事情就會發生移動，所以我不知道我是否可以預測。

We’re prepared for the cut that’s been announced, regardless of what happened last night and we’re going to be working to try to get that cut that was announced here a week or so ago, mitigated as we have over the last number of years. And I feel reasonably confident that, let me say, I feel reasonably hopeful that we can get that done, but the political landscape, it’s hard to predict.

無論昨晚發生什麼，我們都已做好了降息的準備，我們將努力降低一周前宣布的降息幅度，盡可能地緩解這一壓力。我有信心，可以說，我有信心我們能夠完成這個目標，但政治格局很難預測。

Can I just ask a quick follow-up to that? Are you aware of any…

我可以快速問一下這個問題嗎？您是否知道任何…

Are you aware of any folks that were particularly, in Congress that were particularly friendly to outpatient PT that will no longer be part of Congress going forward? I mean, did you all lose anybody that’s been particularly helpful in terms of your advocacy for PT and the industry in general?

您是否知道國會中對門診 PT 特別友好的人將來將不再是國會議員？我的意思是，就你們對 PT 和整個產業的倡議而言，你們是否失去了任何特別有幫助的人？

I think the folks on our side through APTQI, which I’m very much part of and proud to be a part of, have done great work. Liberty Partners has done great work to help us long ago understand that we have to have broad connectivity on both houses of Congress and across both parties. And so I think we’re pretty well positioned. Many of our primary advocates are key people that are very secure on both sides, again, both parties and both sides of Congress. And so I think we’re okay there. I definitely don’t think we’re starting over, if that’s the question.

我認為我們這邊透過 APTQI 的人們做出了巨大的工作，我是其中非常重要的一員，並且很自豪能夠成為其中的一員。自由夥伴組織做了大量工作，幫助我們很久以前就認識到，我們必須在國會兩院和兩黨之間建立廣泛的連結性。所以我認為我們處於非常有利的位置。我們許多的主要倡導者都是雙方（再次強調，是兩黨和國會兩黨）都非常有安全感的關鍵人物。所以我認為我們在這方面還不錯。如果這是問題的話，我絕對不認為我們會重新開始。

It was. Thank you.

是的。謝謝。

Thanks, Mike.

謝謝，麥克。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指令）

And there are no further questions on the line. I’ll return the call to our speakers for any additional or closing remarks.

電話那頭沒有其他問題。我將回電給我們的發言人，詢問他們是否還有任何補充或結束語。

Yeah. Thank you, everybody. I appreciate your time today. Again, team’s working very hard. Give us a chance to finish out this year the way that we have described to you and we’re focused on delivering continued growth next year with some of the capital deployments that we’ve made and some of the adjustments that we’ve made ongoing and even the ones here more recently. So again, we thank you for your patience and your trust and we hope you have a great day. Take care. Bye now.

是的。謝謝大家。感謝您今天抽出時間。再次強調，團隊工作非常努力。讓我們有機會以我們向你們描述的方式結束今年，我們將專注於透過我們已經進行的一些資本部署和一些調整，實現明年的持續成長。所以，我們再次感謝您的耐心和信任，並祝您有個愉快的一天。小心。再見了。

This does conclude today’s program. Thank you for your participation and you may now disconnect.

今天的節目到此結束。感謝您的參與，您現在可以斷開連接。