By Mashum Mollah
Healthcare costs are rising, and the common man is hard pressed to cover their medical bills. This is the news that has been doing the rounds for a while now. If this is making you rethink your decision to start your home healthcare agency, here is some good news for you. This might be just the perfect time for you to enter this marketplace. An interesting report was published by PwC in June 2018, titled Medical Cost Trend: Behind the Numbers 2019. One of the points made in this report is rather interesting in terms of the numerous discussions about increasing healthcare costs happening currently.
Among the factors that are expected to contribute to the inflation of medical cost trends in the coming year is one about how employers are reacting to this situation. The report says that employers are actively trying to improve convenience (for staff) and to do this, they are exploring new ways in which the beneficiaries can get care. This opens up a new opportunity for home health care agencies like yours and independent aides, as well, since the HHA can be a good alternative to getting long-term care for an employee’s dependent family member.
Better control over costs with an HHA:
Hiring a home health care aide places far more control in the hands of the employee, in particular, regarding how much he/she spends. Many prefer hiring HHAs instead of looking for a hospice facility where they can have their dependent family member taken care of because with the HHA, they can hire someone part-time or just for a short duration with ease. In effect, they can keep their costs within reason by choosing what kind of care, and when to opt for, with the HHA agency. This is a situation that can work out in favor of home health care aide agencies that understand the budget constraints of clients and come up with affordable plans that allow them to get the best value for money.
The Baby Boomer generation is aging:
There is yet another factor that works out in favor of HHAs- the Baby Boomer generation is aging and nearing a stage when they may be in need of more care. Given the rising costs of medical treatment and also owing to the limited resources of the general healthcare system, there is immense pressure to look for alternative care options, and HHAs nicely fill this gap. An HHA can be hired to give the right kind of care so that an ailing person’s health does not deteriorate to such a stage that he or she has to be hospitalized. In effect, HHA’s maybe sought after when a client wants to keep serious health issues at bay with respect to an elder in his/her family too. This could be another good area for your home healthcare agency to explore.
Understand demand patterns, and your business succeeds:
The key to succeeding in this niche at this point in time is to analyze the marketplace, learn what kind of challenges potential clients are facing and then gear up to address them through your agency. Market research should be an intrinsic part of your business plan because not only do the needs of clients evolve constantly, the healthcare space itself is in a constant state of flux with new methods of treatment, new equipment coming up on a regular basis. Staying updated with it all puts your agency in the perfect position to make good use of any opportunities that may present themselves. This is why market research should be a regular part of your agenda as a business owner.
Another most critical thing to think about when you are setting up your home healthcare agency is how to protect your business. Just like you plan for financial risks arising from demand fluctuations, you also need to protect against risks from legal proceedings. Keep in mind that a lawsuit filed by a client can leech your new business of funds and leave it dangerously low on capital. You need a foolproof insurance plan to cover your liability arising from such situations.
Wrap:
If the uncertainty in the healthcare arena is making you apprehensive about setting up your HHA business now, you may not be looking at things from the right perspective. The reality is that there are a few factors that underline why this is exactly the right time for launching a business like yours in this niche.
