Starting An NEMT Business: 5 Things You Need To Know

A Non-Emergency Medical Transportation (NEMT) business provides a shuttle service for individuals who need some help getting to medical appointments such as nursing home residents. 

If you’re starting a NEMT business, you’ll likely have some idea of what your first steps must be to reach your intended audience. However, there may be a few things that you haven’t considered before.

These are some of the most crucial things you need to know.

The Importance Of Contracts

Without a solid contract, building a ridership base will be difficult. If you’re serious about starting a NEMT business you will want to understand the essentials.

To start with, many state contracts must now stipulate that you are fully aware of where your vehicle fleet is located at any given time and the total amount of trips they have made. You must carry out research and work out which NEMT policies will apply to any company contract that you have.

A Prominent Online Presence Is Key

Many NEMT businesses may have an older ridership but that does not mean that they are lacking in knowledge about technology! 

Like any other company today, having a good website that communicates everything about your company in a friendly yet professional way is key to your success. Keeping relevant information on a single webpage means potential riders or companies can easily contact you for your services.

If you add interactive elements including online portals to connect riders with a service or even an app for your mobile phone, you may find business improves!

You should also start official company pages on Facebook, Twitter, and Google for example. It’s not entirely necessary in the NEMT world but it’ll be great at attracting new customers. 

Be Realistic With Business Costs

The average cost to start a NEMT business is around $300,000 but this number could be higher or lower depending on your circumstances. To guarantee the best estimate, there are a few general things you must consider:

• Register your business
• Rent or buy facilities
• The cost of permits and licenses
• The total cost of vehicles
• Wages
• Bills
• Cost of creating a new website

You may want to begin by overestimating costs so you are prepared to face any type of situation.

Understand Basic Business Operations 

Another thing you need to know is how operations work, and what the overall basics are. This is essentially everything that goes on in the company to ensure it is earning money and is kept running. 

 A lot of potential NEMT business owners believe that a fleet of vehicles is more important to have than bookings. And while it’s always good to have a loyal contract, this gives you the chance to sort through everything before taking on the financial burden of a vehicle fleet.

To operate a NEMT business you will need to know your on-time performance rate. This is an industry-standard question that holds a lot of significance. On-time performance is evaluated by considering the total percentage of transit vehicles that are departing from or arriving at a specific location with plenty of time to spare. 

As your business is all about providing transport for your customers, you must make sure to regularly update this figure. 

Sourcing Quality Fleet Drivers

You’ll want to hire the right drivers to gain some sort of competitive advantage within the NEMT field. This means you must have a strict list of hiring requirements for potential drivers, including:

• Driver certification varies according to the state. Yet NEMT driver certification training is now so widely available that you can now conduct research to find the most suitable certification program for potential drivers. Alternatively, you could seek out people who already have the specific training to handle oxygen tanks and handle other heavy machinery, for example.
• Insurance. You must look at your driver’s history to identify any problems. This is important to keep rates down and ensure that every driver working for you is completely covered in the case of an emergency.

You’ll also want to be decisive with the number of vehicles you plan to start your business with, and should check to see if there are requirements for your fleet size before starting.

Summary

If you abide by these 5 tips, your NEMT business will likely have a bigger chance of achieving success in your field. They will also help you to build a list of loyal clients while ensuring you are adhering to all legal requirements and practices.