The senior care industry is booming right now, and many families are wanting to utilize the grey market for their care arrangements. If you are looking for a business opportunity that combines steady yet untapped growth with a sense of belonging and purpose, home care is the perfect business to be in.
According to the Administration for Community Living (ACL), older adults have a 70% chance of needing some form of long-term care support in their lifetime. This prompts the need for a steady supply of caregivers to address their needs, for social, physical, mental, and environmental health.
Oftentimes, family caregivers step up to care for those that cared for them. American family trends lean toward smaller family sizes that are more dispersed, prompting a greater need for outside support. It truly takes a village.
That’s where Caregiver registries come in. Caregiver registries act as a marketplace that matches independent caregivers with clients/families in need of care. Let’s dive into the benefits of this business model and why you should own a home care registry.
Lower costs of care.
Home Care Pulse, the leading source of data on the post-acute care space, shared in their latest benchmarking study that private pay (out of pocket) is becoming a less common payer source for care. This shows us that the industry has reached a market cap that consumers can’t bear alone. This is driving families toward home care registries for a variety of reasons, cost being one of the most sensitive factors.
Women generally bear the caregiving responsibilities within their families, however, it comes at a cost. If they were paid for this time and their resources, women have collectively lost $627 Billion per year.
Registries are an appealing option for families because you can charge less while paying caregivers a fairer rate. This gives you more margin to play with, in comparison to other home care options.
Lower costs of care mean that families can:
- Focus more on being there with their loved one
- Make the most of their long term care budget
- Experience improved continuity of care from higher caregiver satisfaction
Operating a home care registry gives you the flexibility to facilitate long-term relationships that keep people living independently in their homes while enjoying the lifestyle and work-life balance you’ve always wanted.
Less caregiver paperwork and scheduling fires.
With a traditional home care agency, you’d employ caregivers directly, as opposed to the 1099 independent contractor model that registries use. As an employer, home care agencies are subject to scrutiny in their hiring, onboarding, and training practices, something that you would not have to go through.
This doesn’t mean that you don’t have some regulatory scrutiny. We’ve partnered with Polsinelli, a legal firm that specializes in home care and a few other industries, to ensure that you have access to resources and counsel that can guide you in important decisions pertaining to your business.
The caregiver work that you need to worry about is adding a degree of separation in terms of payment and compliance, to avoid worker classification issues with the Department of Labor. Ally makes it easy by creating a barrier between you and the caregiver, making a DOL audit a more seamless experience.
On the registry side of things, you also don’t have to worry about scheduling issues. Caregivers set their availability along with the families they work with, and you’re only responsible for matching them together.
More flexibility for families—less work for you.
Imagine this: You’re a family member trying to arrange care for a loved one. The business you reached out to was wanting to distribute the schedule amongst a few caregivers that you didn’t have the chance to meet before while charging a steep market rate. How would that go over between you and your family members?
Caregiver registries give clients and caregivers control of the relationship. They can communicate with each other directly to confirm compatibility, with the caregiver setting their own rate for transparency. This takes you out of the equation from an operational perspective, giving them the autonomy and independence they need to work out care planning and other important matters.
Giving caregivers flexibility over their schedule and pay rates reinforces their value and work-life balance. The traditional home care model keeps caregivers beholden to agencies finding clients for them and inserting those hours into their schedule, without much say in who they work with or where.
Operating a home care registry gives you the best of business ownership with the ability to remain hands-off in relationship maintenance. When clients and caregivers have the reins to grow their relationship, it’s evident in the care they get and how long caregivers stay with them.
Now’s the time to own a home care registry.
With the home health market valued at 142.9 Billion in 2022, you can get a slice of the pie by opening a home care registry. Grand View Research also found that the market is slated to grow just under 7.5% year over year through 2030.
Home care work is a career path and entrepreneurial pursuit that truly fills your cup. As Carson McMullers said, “The closest thing to being cared for is to care for someone else.”
If you’re looking for a business venture that feeds your personal mission and values while also remaining profitable, look no further than a home care registry. Our team at Ally is happy to be a resource and share tools with you as you begin and continue this journey.
Are you ready?
