How To Start A Caregiving Business?

You have to be a very caring, understanding, as well as patient person if you want to work as a caregiver. You have to take up the responsibility of helping the elderly, especially those who are ill or are unable to move around freely, or are mentally troubled. In-home care is a growing field these days. When you are taking care of people who need it, you are helping them stay away from hospitals, nursing homes, or assisted homes. You won’t be able to start a caregiving business if you don’t know the procedure. Your business can be medical, non-medical, independent, or franchised. But every caregiving business shares some significant features with the other. Here is a detailed discussion on this.

Planning

Medicare, as well as Medicaid, are the two largest government programs that pay for assisted-living care in the U.S. Medical equipment, administration of medicine and physical and occupational therapy are some of the home care services that Medicare covers. With that being said, Medicare is not known to provide coverage for homemaking services such as meal preparation or house cleaning, and daily living care services such as dressing or bathing. Medicaid coverage tends to vary from one state to another. Overall, it provides coverage for part-time nursing, medical supplies, ADLs, etc. You need to find out the aspects of your business that Medicare and Medicaid would cover in your area. This will help you offer services to your customers almost free of cost.

Research

Use the United States census and the state census to figure out how many people aged 65 or above need in-home care. That will help you determine if enough senior citizens are needing in-home care so that you can start your business. Suppose, you want to set up a caregiving business in Florida. The state has the highest percentage of senior Americans. This data is enough to warrant setting up a caregiving business in the state. Also, check if the number of seniors in a particular area is staying level, going up, or going down. If the numbers remain steady or increase, starting a business in that area will be a good idea.

Services

While some caregiving businesses offer medical services, others offer non-medical ones. If you are offering medical in-home care, you will have to hire rehab therapists, licensed nurses, and various other personnel from the medical field. If your business is non-medical, it will focus primarily on making meals, housekeeping, and various day-to-day activities.

Structure

Businesses can be of various types. The type of business you have or plan to start will play a role in how much tax you will be required to pay. Aside from that, it will also determine what organizational structure the business needs, and of course, the personal liabilities. The main types of business are sole proprietorship, a partnership, corporation, and LLC (limited liability company).

Paperwork

If you want to start a company, you will have to get it registered in the first place. You have to fill out the tax forms and draft a payroll too. In addition to that, you have to make sure that every employee of your company is legally permitted to work in the United States. To avoid distributing paper paychecks, you have to use the employees’ bank account information to transfer payments directly to their accounts. If your agency offers medical in-home care, an additional certification is required from both Medicare and Medicaid. If you want to get certified, there must be a minimum of 10 active patients on your company’s client roster. Agencies that offer non-medical caregiving services wouldn’t require any licensing.

Liability Coverage

Your job is to deal with a vulnerable part of the population. It’s needless to mention that there is a liability risk in the profession. In-home care agencies have often been accused of negligence. If you want to stay away from expensive lawsuits, you would require adequate coverage from an Entity Professional Liability policy. Also, you can encourage the employees to get their Entity Professional Liability policy.

Hiring the right people for your business, connecting with the healthcare professionals in your locality, being properly equipped with materials, getting funds for your business, and focusing on brand recognition are all important steps towards starting a caregiving business.