Starting your own EMS Company?

[Just Plain Ruff]

First question you should answer.

Have you found an area that has a need for a new ems service or a need for a new service to take over an old one or do you just expect to just be able to start one whereever you want in Maine?

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[akflightmedic]

Bieber touched on it a little bit but no one else focused on this aspect.

BILLING

I am a business owner in the medical field. The money you spend on equipment is pennies compared to ongoing overhead. However billing is essential.

I have 3 full time billing coordinators and 1 lead. This is an entirely separate division which costs a lot of money in addition to all the other costs already mentioned. Finance, billing and HR needs to be factored in.

Additionally, you need to have enough funding AFTER buying all your equipment to fully operate the business for a minimum of 6 months with NO additional revenue. It takes on average 90 days to get paid for a claim and that claim will often be rejected or not paid in full.

I have had claims outstanding up to 6 months with insurance companies and then after hours and hours of justifying my charges I get a partial payment. I actually LOST money on the deal when you consider my overhead and man hours exerted trying to collect.

So your small building idea is not going to suffice as you will need a billing office as well.

Employee turnover...I have had my fair share of employee turnover...in a big business, no big deal...in a small size like what you are suggesting...it hurts and it costs a lot.

I seriously suggest you keep digging and do a lot more research and homework in business development alone and then pick a business model to go after....ambulance is a tough one especially when no one really knows where healthcare services are going to lead over the next few years and with the trends of reduced medicare/medicaid payments over the past few years. You truly are coming in on this one a little too late.

[Mikeb25]

Thanks everyone for all your comments!

Yes - the town I'm in and the town next to me does not have an ambulance service,

and I think the town on the other side of me has an ambulance from the firestation.

I don't have money saved up for it, I'm 19 years old - thats why I was hoping to ask for ideas to help. ( Even if I went toward this idea it wouldn't be for years. so In that way I'm not just jumping into it and beforehand I can figure things out.)

Also, I'm not just looking at the dollar signs, I love being able to help others and even though I havn't started my classes yet,

I've had observation time, and It's a building I feel would be good for me and my community to have.

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Do you think this is something I should save up money for - and get a business loan with what else I need in the future?

Or is there any other advice that would help with this?

Or is the Paramedic field fulfilling on its own?

Thanks so much for all the comments and answers!

[Arctickat]

How large are the towns? Do they have hospitals? Do these hospitals transfer patients to larger hospitals? How often does an ambulance get called to the towns right now?

[akflightmedic]

This is NOT something you "will save up for" even in a few years. This is a project you build on paper with data, statistics, design...and then seek investors. If you are able to save up a few million over the next few years...I want your job.

[island emt]

Mike: Welcome to the City.

Being from Maine also, there is probably a reason why there is not a service in your town presently.

either low call volume or a regional service that provides EMS . The majority of ambulance service in the state are fire department or volunteer ambulance service based.

There are a few large privates providing 911 & transport services

There are ways to find out things such as call data historically for your town and neighboring towns. Check with your towns annual report for info would be a good place to start. If they don't have a service , then they are contracted with one from somewhere.

If you called 911 , who would answer the call now?

Pm Me if you want some more info without disclosing where you are online.

[emtdennis]

Mike,

Great goal to go for in the long run.

Get your certs first so you can see how you feel about helping others and running the show at the same time.

My personal thought, if I had the required funding, business plan, materials, and resources, I would still prefer to work for someone else. Owning a business is great but when the responsibility of running a business takes away from the passion of what you like to do (help people), there will be problems.

Aside from what everyone else has said above, keep in mind "you are the ultimate "chief cook and bottle washer"

Not to burst your bubble, JMHO..

Edited August 8, 2012 by djdudley

[Chief1C]

There may be some helpful information in this topic:

http://www.emtcity.com/topic/18834-starting-an-ambulance-service/page__hl__%2Bstarting+%2Bservice

When buying a used ambulance.. with a minimal budget.. I would very strongly suggest, that you choose one that belonged to, like, a rural volunteer service, that has a lot of F.O.G.'s that sincerely value and respect the money spent to keep it in operation. You'd almost be getting a good deal. If you buy something surplus from a major ambulance service supplier with 300,000 miles on it, and only pay $5000 for it.. You may as well shoot yourself in the foot. Just in my experience, the older something is, with low miles, the better deal you get, and they always seem to be well cared for.. We get a new one every 10 years, whether we need one or not. After ten, it won't have any trade-in value, even if it has less than 70,000 miles. But they're always in amazing condition.