There are two big insurance questions for non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) providers: What does non-emergency medical transportation insurance cover, and how much does it cost? In our last post, we looked at the various components of NEMT insurance, and what types of claims and scenarios they applied to. In this post, we'll detail the different factors that affect NEMT insurance rates.

Setting insurance rates is all about evaluating risk. How likely is your organization to make an insurance claim? What is the likely severity of that claim? How are those risks multiplied across the number of personnel and vehicles that make up your organization? Once these and other parameters are established, a pricing structure comes into play that weighs risk factors and correlates them with a monetary value.

The various risk factors at play for an NEMT provider can generally be divided into three broad categories: Direct Factors, Historical Factors, and Forward-Looking Factors.

A lot of the time people will have to pay significant amounts for non-emergency medical transport. Under a few circumstances where disability exists, insurance or plans like Medicare pick up the cost. Another way people might find reduced costs is by looking for low-cost or charitable agencies that offer medical transport.

Direct Factors:

Direct Factors are those with the most set-in-stone rate structure. For the most part, they come down to a simple assessment of basic facts. NEMT providers have the least control over these factors.

Number of Vehicles/Personnel:

This factor is the most crystal clear: The more vehicles you have in your vehicle fleet, the higher your insurance rates will be. The same goes for the number of staff you employ. Rates are calculated on a per-vehicle and per-person basis, so as those numbers climb, so do insurance rates. If you consider this through the lens of risk evaluation, it makes sense: More vehicles means more potential for accidents and other claims.

Types of Vehicles:

When you get your personal vehicle insured, vehicle type plays a large role in your insurance rate. A sports car costs more to insure than an SUV. Why? For one, SUVs typically have more comprehensive vehicle safety features than sports cars. Furthermore, the types of driving undertaken in a sports car are generally riskier than those undertaken when driving an SUV.

The same concept applies to NEMT vehicles. Ambulatory vehicles, wheelchair vehicles, and stretcher vehicles (also known as ambulettes) each carry their own inherent risks. For example, wheelchair and stretcher vehicles are more expensive to insure, as they carry a greater risk of passenger injury. This added risk stems from the need to properly secure wheelchairs and stretchers. If not properly secured, they could move during travel and cause injury. This causes wheelchair and stretcher vehicles to have a higher incident rate than other types of vehicles, as more incidents take place without an accident or collision.

Location:

Individual states and localities have their own laws and regulations when it comes to insurance requirements. Adguard premium license key free. Among other things, these regulations take into account unique geographic concerns, such as the area's physical attributes and inherent driving dangers. For this reason, the same NEMT company with the same vehicle fleet, the same staff, and the same insurance provider would be charged differently for NEMT insurance in one area of the country versus another.

Historical Factors:

In the insurance world, past performance is indicative of future results. For this reason, the history of your company and your staff plays an important role in evaluating risk and setting insurance rates. NEMT providers have a greater degree of control over these factors.

Experience Level:

The experience level of owners and managers impacts the determination of insurance rates. If company leadership has a proven track record of running a safe transportation company, that will help drive down insurance rates. For someone entering the field for the first time, there is no historical track record to examine. This adds uncertainty, leading to higher rates. Of course, if company leadership has a poor track record, this will cause insurance rates to rise.

Driving Record:

Driving records play a major part in NEMT insurance rates. The motor vehicle records (MVR) of each and every driver you employ will be checked thoroughly by the insurance company. Every aspect of that record comes into play, from speeding tickets, to moving violations, to accident records. A clean driving record leads to lower rates, while past incidents can cause rates to climb quickly. For this reason, the large majority of NEMT providers evaluate driving records as part of the hiring process.

Forward-Looking Factors:

All insurance calculations are forward-looking. Direct Factors and Historical Factors are analyzed in an effort to gauge the likelihood that insurance claims will be made in the future. Insurance providers also take a careful evaluation of Forward-Looking Factors, evaluating the proactive programs NEMT providers have in place to mitigate the likelihood of future risks. This is where NEMT providers can exercise the greatest control over their insurance rates.

Vehicle Maintenance:

Vehicles that are in good working order are less likely to be involved in accidents. This is why new vehicles typically cost less to insure than pre-owned vehicles: The new vehicles simply haven't been on the road as much, and therefore haven't had as much time to accumulate wear and tear. Proper vehicle maintenance is a vital part of maintaining vehicle safety and performance. By instituting a detailed vehicle maintenance program, and taking steps to ensure strong adherence to that program, NEMT providers can demonstrate their commitment to ensuring safe vehicle operation for years to come. This lessens future risk, and therefore serves to make future claims less likely. Decreased likelihood of future claims drives down insurance rates.

Training:

Continuous learning is a valuable tenant to instill in your organization. There are a wide array of training courses that can better prepare drivers to avoid risky situations in the first place, and to better respond in these situations when they do arise. By taking part in wheelchair securement training, your staff will know how to take the proper steps to secure a wheelchair before travel. By taking defensive driving courses, they can better deal with the unexpected out on the road.

These courses and others like them also help to instill a strong safety culture throughout your organization. Demonstrated completion of these courses will help to bring down insurance rates. Just as NEMT providers will typically review driving history during hiring, they will often require the completion of applicable training courses after drivers have been hired on.

For more information on NEMT insurance pricing, contact AdvisorNet Property & Casualty, a trusted NEMT insurance provider with offices in Sheboygan, Wisconsin and Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Thanks to advances in medicine and technology, the population of elderly people in the United States continues to increase. While there were fewer than 50 million elderly Americans in 2015, it’s expected there will be 70 million of them by 2030, according to census data. That growth, coupled with the uncertain future of the Affordable Care Act and the public’s need for medical care, has created many opportunities for entrepreneurs to make some serious cash by building businesses that provide needed healthcare services—like starting a medical transportation company.

One of the increasingly popular ways entrepreneurs are doing that is by starting a medical transportation company. These businesses typically exist to take elderly and disabled patients from their homes to routine appointments and non-emergency checkups, then back again.

Patients who use non-emergency medical transportation companies are usually on stretchers, wheelchair-bound, or rely on walkers or canes to move from place to place. In almost all instances, these folks are simply unable to use traditional transportation services—like taxicabs or buses—to get from Point A to Point B. They require some sort of assistance, so to get to their appointments, they have two options: call an ambulance and spend a lot of money or use a non-emergency medical transportation company that’s much more affordable. Many patients—or at least those in charge of managing their finances—choose the latter.

If you’re thinking about starting a medical transportation company, that’s great news. You’ve figured out that there’s a growing need for this kind of service which appears likely to continue growing.

As it stands now, the non-emergency medical transportation sector generates $15 billion annually. How do you get the biggest slice of that pie?

7 Tips on Starting a Medical Transportation Company

1. Make sure you have enough money

By some estimates, it can cost an average of $350,000 to start your own non-emergency medical transportation company. You need to register your business; cover legal, insurance, permit, and licensing fees; acquire a facility; purchase vehicles; pay utility bills and wage expenses; launch a website; and cover other costs.

Before you move forward any further, make sure you have enough money to launch the business. If not, you may have to sell some equity in your business to an investor or apply for a small business loan.

2. Pick the right location

Because everyone needs healthcare services, you can also open a profitable business in practically any part of the country. That said, you still want to do your due diligence ahead of time to figure out whether it makes sense to open in specific markets. For example, if there are a lot of non-emergency medical transportation companies in a small city, you may want to open up shop somewhere that doesn’t have as much competition.

Look for locations that have dialysis centers, hospitals, nursing homes, and other senior assisted-living facilities nearby. That’s where you’ll get most of your revenue. Don’t forget that some students need non-emergency medical transportation too. You may also be able to secure contracts through local school districts.

3. Take care of legal and insurance aspects

You’d be surprised at how many people forget to tackle the fine print when they’re launching a business. First things first: Incorporate your business as a limited liability corporation (LLC) to ensure you won’t lose your personal assets in the event you get sued. You’ll also need to figure out which kind of driver’s license you need to take people from one location to another, which varies on a state-by-state basis. Additionally, you’ll need general liability insurance, car insurance, and worker’s compensation insurance in the event one of your employees is injured on the job.

DOWNLOAD EPUB. Executive Job Search Handbook. The Secrets of Executive Search: Professional Strategies for Managing Your Personal Job Search. Job Search Secrets. Executive Secrets: Covert Action and the Presidency. Report 'Secrets of the executive search experts' Your name. Download secrets of the executive search experts pdf.

4. Figure out how to market your business

Once you’re all set up, it’s time to go out and land your first clients. Do some research to find out how much your competitors charge their customers and price your services similarly. Next, you’ll want to send out some marketing information to prospective customers to let them know that you’re open for business. Offer some discounts to encourage people to give you a shot. You will also want to maintain an SEO-friendly blog that covers relevant industry trends and helpful tips your customers will appreciate. Use social media to promote those posts. That way, when people are looking for a company that offers your services, they’ll find you. You may also want to see if you can form partnerships with hospitals, nursing homes, and other similar facilities.

5. Make sure you can collect payments

Every business needs the ability to collect payments. In the non-emergency medical transportation industry, you will generally deal with two types of payments: those that come from the patients (or the people who manage their finances) and those that come from the government. In some instances, it may make sense for you to install a device that enables you to collect credit card payments in your vehicle, similar to what many taxis have. In other instances, it might not.

Medicaid payments will be a major portion of your total receipts. The laws vary from county to county, so make sure you’re familiar with the ones that affect your business before launching.

Aside from the Medicaid patients, some patients will be able to pay bills by themselves either by writing checks or paying with cash on the spot. In other instances, you’ll have to bill their guardians, who are responsible for managing their finances. Keep in mind that you may have to wait a while before collecting the second type of payments. If you run into cash flow problems while waiting for checks to come in, you can use an invoice financing service like Fundbox to advance payments on outstanding invoices.

6. Hire employees as your business grows

As you get more patients and land bigger contracts, you’ll need to hire enough drivers, coordinators, and support staff to handle the higher volume. To ensure your patients get the quality of service they’re looking for, do your best to hire the best and brightest experienced workers you can find. Assuming you’re the CEO, you’ll need to hire nurses, doctors, home health caregivers, drivers, and an office manager. Depending on how big your company gets, you may also need to hire a dedicated marketing team, a finance department, and a human resources manager.

7. Stay on top of changing laws

At the time of this writing, the ACA is the law of the land. To ensure your company never runs afoul of the law, it is imperative that you stay informed about any new regulations coming down the pike that may affect your business. You will also want to stay abreast of potential changes to tax laws that impact your company.

Like any other business, starting a medical transportation company is hard work. As long as you know that from the outset and are willing to put in the time and energy necessary to succeed, you should do just fine. Not only will starting a medical transportation company generate a lot of revenue and create a lot of jobs, you’ll also be providing a critical service to a number of elderly and disabled patients—helping them and their loved ones enjoy a better quality of life.