If Are you Ready To Start You Own Agency, Then You Must Be The Head Of It. You Can't Take A Back Seat In The Process!
July 13, 2021
Considerations For Starting An Agency:
Starting
an agency has many steps but you really need to look at the best approach for your success. Let's consider some of the important items moving forward:
- What Kind Of Service Do You Want To Provide? It is important to understand if you want to provide skilled, hospice, or private duty services. The decision is not only about the services but the financial start-up costs you will incur depending on the type of agency. The type of service will often also determine how long it takes to be up and running with a completed survey.
- What Kind Of Money Do You Have Put Back? You need a pretty decent rainy day fund to start an agency. Sometimes we get calls where the individual has $10,000 saved back to start an agency. This is not enough. Starting an agency depending on the type can be anywhere from $75,000 to over $300,000. So, don't start the process without the proper amount of capital to do it. If you want to start a Medicare program, the 855 form will require you to provide financial documents proving you have the required dollars to make it happen.
- How Does The Survey Process Go? In some states such as Georgia, the state requires it do the initial survey on an agency. Others like Ohio focus on maintaining agencies once they are already up and running. So, it requires initial survey be completed by an accrediting body such as CHAP or ACHC. Does your state require licensure? What is the turnover time from when you notify the state you are ready for survey until you can expect them at your door? Many opt for accreditation on initial survey even if the state doesn't require it. The states do not prioritize start-up surveys. They prioritize maintaining those already in business and where the agencies are in jeopardy or need follow-up surveys due to condition level deficiencies. In these cases, your survey request could remain at the bottom of the pile for some time while you continue to provide services you cannot bill. In these cases, accreditation surveys often happen within a month of survey readiness.
- You Need To Be Running The Ship: As a consulting firm, we have been in agencies where the person who is starting it really doesn't know the business or care to know it. You have got to put in the time and the effort to know the regulations and what your staff should and should not be doing. This was important when the COPs changed. It was apparent to CMS that many administrators were hands off in their own agencies. You have to understand the business in order to do it well. You can't expect it be done by everyone else. You do not want to put that much trust in others to have control of your business.
- Choose A Consultant To Assist: Can you do the process yourself? Yes. Does it make the process harder and more cumbersome? Absolutely! Utilizing a consultant to assist with the process helps make sure you don't make common errors on the 855 or in understanding regulations. The consultant can help you put clinical and operational processes in place. They can help make sure your policy and procedure manuals have the required items and are customized to how your agency functions.
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