The Dollars And Cents/ Sense Of Starting A Homecare Or Hospice Agency: Evaluate Your Best Options To Proceed

We frequently get calls about those looking for help starting a home care, home heath, and hospice agency. It’s part of what we do. However, it is important that those looking to jump into the homecare and hospice arena understand the process, the cost, and whether it is a good fiscal move. Here are some things to consider ahead of time to help determine if you are prepped for success.

1.    What’s Your Background? Have you worked in the industry? Have you have been on the business end or the clinical end of an agency. This doesn't mean that you cannot start a successful homecare agency without it, but you will have more education on the industry standards and regulations than those already versed in them.

2.    What Competition Do I Have? This is something you definitely have to consider. If there is market saturation in your area, you may be climbing a really steep hill to get any market share.

3.    Differentiation: After compiling the data from the competitive analysis, do you need to look at providing a niche’ service or product to fill a gap in your community? These are the types of things that can someone in a saturated market obtain market share.

4.    Leadership: If you come from a strong business background, then you need a strong clinician working with your agency. The same holds true for those who are clinicians. If you don’t have strengths in both departments, then get the right people around you to support your start-up.

5.    Finances: Look, starting an agency takes money. Depending on where you are located in the country, here is what it typically takes to get yourself up and running:

         Homecare: $40,000-$80,000

         Non- Medicare Home Health: $60,000-$100,000

         Medicare Certified Home Health/ Hospice: $150,000-$350,000

Those numbers may appear to be more that what you anticipated, but you have to look at the costs to provide services to patients up front before you are allowed to bill for reimbursement. It includes costs of overhead that will also accrue while you await survey. There are licensure fees, software, EMR fees, training costs and more. Then, for those considering Medicare certification, you have the capitalization requirements needed in order to get your 855 approved and move forward. That money has to remain in place to show CMS you have the necessary dollars required to operate. This is not to discourage someone from moving forward, but to make sure someone goes into the process ready to succeed and not begin a process they do not have the funds to complete. .

Kenyon Homecare Consulting Can Help You Start-up Successfully:

At Kenyon Homecare Consulting , we offer a comprehensive list of products an services to help those starting an agency as well as those currently in the industry. Our senior level consulting staff can help you with solutions to your business and start-up needs. Call us today at 206-721-5091 or contact us online to see how we can help you!