Home Health Care Business Background Information:
Your typical day will vary greatly, depending on the type of home health care business you start. If you pursue a medical based home health care business then you may sit with elderly or ailing patients and give them their medications.
There may also be light duty cleaning and cooking involved. You may need to help your patients with hygiene needs. Non-medical based home health care businesses perform the similar tasks. However, they do not give patients medications.
Home Based Business Consideration
There are some decisions that you will need to make before starting your business. First, decide whether to start a medical or non-medical based business. A medical based business can charge more for their services. However, you must have medical training such as a CNA (certified nursing assistant).
Also, think about whether to start a franchise or open your own independent agency. Franchises, such as Visiting Angels®, give you name recognition and provide a proven business model, but require you to pay franchise fees.
Home Health Care Business Tasks And Skills Needed:
Whether you do all the work yourself, hire, or subcontract, here's a list of tasks, skills, and issues that need attention:
Business Specific Tasks:
- Invoicing Patients or Insurance Companies
- Maintaining licenses and certifications
- Maintaining business insurance
 Vehicle Maintenance- Advertising/Marketing
- Staying current with business matters such as licenses, insurance, and permits
- Website maintenance and marketing
- Money management
- Accounting
Industry Specific Tasks:
- Be able to assist with mobility
- Administer medications (possibly)
- Take blood pressure
- Take care of bodily needs of person
- Make meals
- Help to help the home orderly and hygienic
- Transport people to shopping, church, etc.
- Scheduling
Approximate Daily Hours Needed:
General Hours of Operation: As a home health giver, your hours will vary greatly. This is not a 9-5 job. Some home health care professionals live in with their patients.
Hours Needed to Prepare - Plan on one to two hours to complete any paperwork and invoicing at the end of the day.
Number of Employees Needed To Run This Business:
During the start up phase, you can run this business, on a small scale, single-handedly. Once Your Business is up and running successfully, you may need to hire the following:
- Licensed health care professionals or trained staff
- Receptionists
Skill Requirements for This Business:
- Previous nursing or nursing assistance is helpful but not required
 Ability to lift a minimum of 50 pounds easily- Patience with people (including elderly and ailing)
- Warm Persona
- Basic Medical Background
- Flexibility in the hours you need to care for your client
- Basic understanding of emergency medical treatments and CPR
Licenses:
You will need a business license, Federal Employee Identification Number (EIN), insurance and possibly incorporation paperwork such as an LLC.
 Licensing requirements vary from state to state. Check to make sure that you have the proper requirements and that your area does not require you to be a certified nurse to start a home health company.
Any employees that you hire, need to have thorough background checks. Also, contact private insurance companies to see how you can start accepting their insurance. Contact your state to check on regulations for accepting Medicare and Medicaid benefits.
Consider obtaining the additional license and certification needed to accept Medicare and Medicaid clients. To do this, apply through the State Medicare agency and get a surety bond of $50,000 from an approved surety company.
A state representative will inspect your agency to make sure it meets all of the required health and safety standards. You are required to have at least 7 clients and three months of operating funds and steady revenue.
Approximate Minimum Start up Cost:
The investment required to start your own home healthcare business is relatively low. If you are going to be caring for people in their own homes, you eliminate the need for an office or for a lot of equipment. The patients will have the necessary medical equipment in their homes already.
Necessary Equipment to Run this Business:
Necessary Start-Up Equipment & Supplies:
Supplementary Equipment: - Equipment or helpful products that you can acquire to once your business is off and running:
- Variety of different types of books that can be read to clients
- Diagnostics Equipment
- Cleaning supplies (if requested to clean as well)
 Monthly Expenses To Consider:
- Phone/cell phone
- Utilities
- Advertising/Marketing
- Supplies
- Rent/Lease if you have an office
Special Requirements and Considerations For This Business:
- Perform all necessary criminal and background investigations for each home health care aid that is hired. The DataBase Records website performs instant nationwide criminal searches for as low as $29.
- Accept private medical insurance by making sure your agency meets individual insurer requirements. You can get this information by contacting them directly and obtaining a list of those requirements.
- If you are running a medical-based home health care business, get necessary certifications.
Pros And Cons of Opening A Home Healthcare Business:
The Pros of Running a Home Healthcare Business:
- You perform a valuable service to the community
- There is a good market for your services
- Minimal startup costs
- Room for Expansion
The Cons of Running a Home Healthcare Business:
 Might have long hours- Patients may take out frustration over not being able to care for themselves on you
- Family might have expectations of you that go beyond your job duties (like expecting you to cook dinner for the whole family every night)
- Some work can be physically demanding
Type of Customers You Need to Attract:
Typical costumers that need home health care professionals include the elderly, the disabled, and those recuperating from major surgeries and injuries.
Home Healthcare Business Statistics:
According to the National Association of Home Care & Hospice estimation, $72.2 billion USD will be spent on home health care.
According to data from Medicaid, in 2008 Medicaid paid an average of $4938 USD per patient to home health care professionals per month. The average amount of visits per patient was 35 per month.
Revenue:
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average annual wage for managers in the home healthcare services industry in May 2007 was $83,030. The revenue as a business owner could be unlimited.
Home Healthcare Business Resources:
 Home Health Care Associations: This page is a collection of home care and nursing association websites that promote the furtherance of care giver education and quality healthcare.
 Home Health Care Business Plans: This page is a collection of websites that provide information on creating business plans and sell software and templates to streamline the process.
 Home Health Care Franchises: Each of these websites provided individuals with franchise information to help them determine which opportunity is right for them.
 Home Health Care Training: The websites listed here provide access to educational institutions and materials to either begin or further careers in the healthcare industry.
 Home Health Care Publications: These informative websites each provide medical personnel with different perspectives on medical news and information as it relates to home care.
 Home Health Care News: Home care professionals will find these websites and publications useful as they present industry news and a multitude of other resource materials.
 Health Care Forums, Groups, And Discussions: This page is a collection of websites dedicated to networking home care professionals for the furtherance of the industry and to improve health care.
 Home Health Care Software: These software companies have gone to great lengths to develop computer software that targets the needs of home care professionals and businesses.
 Home Health Care Forms: This page is a collection of websites that promise to provide customers with customizable medical documents needed to run a home care business.
 Home Health Care Equipment & Supplies: This page is a collection of medical equipment and supply websites that strive to offer their customers a large selection of products at various prices.
 Home Health Care Staffing Resources: These healthcare staffing websites help medical professionals find work. They also serve to put individuals in touch with qualified home care specialists.
 Home Health Care Agencies / Companies: A list of over 10 home health care companies. Going through the companies on this page will give you an idea of what is needed to get into the home health care business.
 Home Health Care Industry: This collection of websites offers information of interest to those thinking about investing or beginning a career in the home care industry.
 Home Health Care Jobs: Finding a job that is a good fit is vital in the healthcare industry. These sites provide a means for employers and employees to connect in a positive way.
Businesses To Related to a Home Healthcare Business:
- Nursing
- Counseling
- Adult Daycare
- Family caregiver
- Hospice care
See Also:
 Starting A Business Checklist: This section helps you cover all bases when you are getting in to your own business.
 Complete List of Business Ideas - A list of all our business ideas that you can use to stimulate your entrepreneurial spirit. Choose from over a hundred detailed pages.
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