How to Start a Home Health Care Agency
*We will get your home health care agency started. Call us today at 603-508-6172 to get started!
The elderly population is rising steadily year after year. Due to this, there is an abundant need for home care businesses and home health care agencies. If you are thinking of starting a home care or home health care agency, now is a great time.
If you have been thinking about starting your own home care or home health care agency, you have probably learned that there is a lot that goes into getting your home care business started.
If this is your first time researching, or your hundredth, your research isn’t complete until you call Certified Homecare Consulting. Certified Homecare Consulting will provide you with cost free, State specific solutions for starting your home care or home health care business in your State.
What is the difference between starting a home health care agency and a home care agency?
A home care agency is “non-medical”. There are no clinical or nursing services being provided by the agency. Non-medical Home Care includes personal care, companion care, and sitter services – you do not touch the patient. Home care services can also include home health aide services. The difference between a home health aide and a personal care, companion care, or sitter service, in most states, is that a home health aide can physically touch the patient. A home health aide typically requires more training than the other types of home care agency employees.
A home health care agency can provide all of the non-medical home care agency services, but can also offer nursing and therapy services. This includes Registered Nursing, Licensed Practical Nursing, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and Speech Therapy.
The real question becomes, how do I put my home care agency or home health care agency in the best position to get patients and bill for the services being provided.
Starting a Home Health Care Business? Follow These Steps
*Certified Homecare Consulting has helped start hundreds of home care agencies and home health care agenices – we also own a few agenices ourselves. We are an authority on starting home care and home health care businesses. Contact us directly for more information if you woudl like to start a home care or home health care agency.
Step 1. Create a Business Plan for your Home Care or Home Health Care Business
If you want to start a business, you will need a business plan. The business plan you create for your home health care agency will be the blueprint for your company and detail each step to follow. The business plan you create for your home health care agency should include the following:
Summary – your business in a nutshell
Description – who you are and what you do
SWOT – strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats
Sales & Marketing Plan – how your business earns business
Operations – the process you will implement to fulfill your services
Finances – capital and projections
Step 2. Get a Home Care Business License or Home Health Care Business License in your State
In most States, if you want to start a home care or home health care business, you will need a license. This process is more straight forward in some States than others. In some States, the license has a name that does not include the words home care or home health care.
Regardless of your State and the need for a license to operate your home care or home health care business, your agency will need policies and procedures. Your policies and procedures are needed to achieve State licensure, but also assure you are abiding by all State, and Federal guidelines.
The home care and home health care business license process vary State by State. If you need assistance with this process, please call us directly. Certified Homecare Consulting guarantees all State license and policy and procedure services.
Step 3. Get Medicaid and Medicare Certified and Accredited with CHAP, ACHC, or TJC
In most States, if you want to take part in the State Medicaid Program (MassHealth, MediCAL, etc.), you will need to achieve Private Duty or Medicare Accreditation with one of the 3 accrediting bodies, CHAP, ACHC, or TJC.
Regardless of the State you are in, if you want to bill Medicare, you must achieve Medicare Accreditation.
Please be aware that Medicaid and Medicare are not open to new providers in all States. If you would like more information on which States allow new providers to bill Medicaid and Medicare, contact us today for this free information.
If you would like to do your own research, please visit the CMS and Medicaid websites.
Step 4. Human Resources and Hiring Staff for your Home Health Care Agency
This next step should not be taken lightly. Hiring staff is one of the most important aspects of your agency, and the foundation your business.
Not only will your state and the accrediting body require you to have specific types of staff (Administrator, Clinical Director, etc), but the way in which you manage these employee files is also critical to the operation of your business and taken very seriously by the local and federal governmnt.
Furthermore, these are the same folks who are going to market your services, talk to, and care for your patients.
Step 5. Market your Home Health Care Agency and Get Patients
Marketing your home care or home health care business is vital for its success. You want to create a presense in your community, online, among social workers, hospitals, discharge planners, doctors, nurses, therapies, etc.
Where will you market your home health care agency?
