About this episode
Ray Hagan, vice president at WellTrans in Indiana and a consultant through JARPEC, joins host Nirav Chheda for a lightning round covering the 16 steps of launching an NEMT operation. Hagan moves through market research, state licensing, insurance, business structure, operating authority, broker credentialing, hiring, training, dispatch software, billing and taxes at roughly one to two minutes per topic. He grounds the advice in Indiana specifics, including the state's $1.5 million liability requirement, roughly $15,000 to $17,000 in annual insurance per vehicle for a new venture, and a 90 day broker billing window.
Key takeaways
- Indiana requires $1.5 million in general and auto liability, which Hagan says costs a new venture roughly $15,000 to $17,000 per vehicle per year.
- Indiana requires a US DOT number before a provider can apply for intrastate operating authority, and Indiana businesses must recertify every two years, or annually if nonprofit.
- Indiana brokers require trip and billing detail submission no later than 90 days after the trip, and missing that window can mean non payment or penalties.
- Hagan tells new owners to read broker contracts closely for no show wait times of ten or fifteen minutes, on time performance penalties, and minimum trip quotas.
- Organizations moving from manual planning to dispatch software see driver load volumes level out, which Hagan says raises driver satisfaction and exposes gaps in the schedule.
Chapters
- 0:00 Introduction
- 1:25 Deciding to open an NEMT business
- 2:30 Market Research
- 5:58 State Regulation and Requirements
- 8:51 Aligning Expectations of Cost
- 12:33 Creating Business Structure
- 13:59 Obtaining Insurance
- 16:07 USDOT, MC Numbers, and Authority Requirements
- 18:02 Registering with Medicaid Office/Broker
- 20:12 Regulatory/Compliance Requirements
- 21:51 Hiring Drivers/Staff
- 24:40 Training Staff
- 25:37 Dispatching Software
- 28:00 Accounting Personnel/Software
- 29:43 Billing/Submitting Claims
- 30:58 State Business Authority Requirements
- 32:01 Taxes
- 33:37 Ending
