How to Start an NEMT Business?

How to Start an NEMT Business

Since you are interested in starting an NEMT business, you probably know that non-emergency medical transportation services help people with disabilities get to their appointments, therapies, health check-ups, etc. Over the past 20 years, the demand for such transportation has risen, and in 2017 there were 41 million US citizens registered as people with disabilities. All of those people need to get to their doctors, so starting an NEMT company today can become an incredibly profitable investment in the future. Here we collected the essential steps in starting your new company today.

1. Establish a Business Entity

Legal structure: This means first and foremost that you need to decide on the company’s legal structure. Consider sole proprietorship, partnership, or LLC; while LLC is actually the most reliable and perspective form of business (it separates and protects your personal assets from your business assets), you can always choose sole proprietorship to get started.

Legal documents: To get your non-emergency medical transportation business up and running, you need to deal with all required operation permits, certificates, and licenses for the business. The requirements heavily depend on your state and even city. Yet the standard requirement is to submit a copy of a Medical Transportation Provider Application Package (can be found in the local health care services department) and special drivers licensing requirements from the local Department of Driver Services.

Insurance: Most major insurance providers already have NEMT insurance plans in place, yet we advise selecting a company that would change your insurance agreement as your medical transportation business grows to control all the costs from the very beginning.

2. Set up a Fleet

After establishing the company, get your fleet in order. Select special vehicles or even just a single van to begin. Ensure that your vehicles are safe, reliable, customized for your prospective clients, and that they are supplied with all required accessibility equipment. You can check ADA (Americans with Disabilities) vehicle requirements to stay competitive and be approved by your government agency.

When selecting your fleet seller, try to cooperate with factory-direct dealers to save on middleman charges.

3. Get the Final Preparations

In this day and age website creation, social media involvement, and app development are essential in the growth of a successful NEMT business. So a few tips on each:

Website: Your website must be simple and intuitive; make sure to include the following pages: Home with logo, tagline, high-resolution photos and contact info; About with a brief introduction of the company; Services with prices and service areas; Testimonials with reviews and customers’ testimonials; Contact with your contact info, email, contact form, and social media links.

Social media: Set up several accounts on the most popular social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Get connected to the local groups, hospitals, medical centers and influencers to spread the word about your business. And don’t forget to regularly update your accounts to keep the audience interested.

Software: Choosing the correct NEMT software is essential in keeping your business operational. This software should most importantly include automated dispatching. This will reduce overhead, reduce dependence on a dispatcher and reduce overall human error. Your software package should include an all in one cloud based platform for billing and invoicing, a database housing your clients and accounts, and reporting tools to keep track of your revenue earned per vehicle/client/account (to learn how much NEMT companies earn on average you can check another blog post). It would also be helpful to have a client facing application provided by your software company. This will reduce phone calls to your office and create a more customer friendly business approach. The software you select is one of the most important factors concerning your new business.    

4. Get the Clients

Yes, you need to advertise and connect with the audience via social media portals and standard marketing means. However, hospitals and medical centers can offer some of the greatest profit. Get your marketing materials ready (brochures, business cards) and visit local hospitals, nursing homes, doctors’ offices, community clinics, adult day/live-in care, and lab facilities to set up bulk and long-lasting relationships with these establishments. In this way, you can get more clients at a time and already get your business going. Keep in mind also, insurance companies can become a reliable partner for NEMT services.

With these four steps, you will set up a successful, prosperous, and efficient NEMT business regardless of its size. And if you would like to get your business model to the next level and get ahead of the competition, give us a call to see exactly how iSi Technology can provide you with the tools and robust software necessary to run your entire business on one cloud platform. Dispatching, billing, keeping track of your accounts and sending out invoices are all made simple and automated with the iSi Technology software solution.

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