How to Start a Chiropractic Business with Financing
The money required to start your own chiropractic practice may seem intimidating, but here’s how you can navigate startup costs and more. The total cost of setting up an office, hiring staff, and purchasing medical equipment can quickly add up. Plus there are additional obstacles. It’s important to remember that most lenders treat chiropractic care as alternative medicine when it comes to loan terms. So, you may not get the same rates as doctors and dentists. Here are ways to finance your chiropractic practice: Types of Chiropractor Loans Long-Term Loans: These are loans that can be paid off over many years. They can be used for large purchases like medical equipment, new construction, or to buy property. However, it’s more difficult to qualify for low interest rates for this type of loan. Short-Term Loans: If you need to borrow money for a small amount of time, this may be the right fit for you. Common expenditures here include salaries, rent, and medical or office supplies. These typically come with higher interest rates. Equipment Financing: These come with lower interest rates but at a cost. Equipment financing is when lenders use your actual chiropractic equipment as collateral in the event you default on your loan payments. Line of Credit: A low-risk form of financing with higher interest rates. Your financial institution will determine the maximum line of credit extended to your business. Payments can be made monthly or as agreed upon with your bank. What You Need to Know About Lenders Banks and credit unions: This is the go-to option for many people. Often considered traditional and trustworthy, rules and regulations for borrowing tend to be strict. This tends to be a more reliable option for established businesses as they have a higher chance of approval. Government: You may be eligible for funding from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). The program means the federal government agrees to partially pay a portion of your business loans. However, this is typically applicable to businesses that have operated for two or more years. Online Lenders: If you don’t have any history owning a business, this may be an option for you. It’s relatively easy to get approval. The catch is interest rates are generally very high. Other Finance Options It can help to find a financial lender that’s experienced in working with chiropractors. This may afford you the opportunity to get the best interest rates and deals. You may have noticed a lot of finance options require you to have past experience owning or operating a chiropractic business. Other ways to combat this are to take out a personal loan. While it’s not advised, you can secure a loan against your home, car, or other investments. This option comes with the dangerous risk of losing your possessions in the event you can’t pay your loan. While it’s not difficult to qualify for funding, there are definitely obstacles that can make it a tricky road to navigate. Don’t hesitate to speak with various lenders to fully explore your options given your chiropractic experience and financial situation.
How Much Should Chiropractors Charge for Their Services?
So, how much do you charge your patients? Well, the answer isn’t always easy. We often ask ourselves: “How much are my competitors charging?”, “What’s the normal market rate for my area?”, “Are my prices reasonable?”, and “Are my prices competitive?” The reality is there’s a balancing act to be done between what you’re paying for overhead costs, employee salaries, office supplies, and what you catered for lunch last week. How Much Do Your Services Really Cost? The average overhead in typical chiropractic practice is 50%, according to a national survey. It’s expected this amount will likely increase due to increasing infrastructure and utilities costs. Here’s a simple formula to calculate your costs: Make a list of monthly fixed expenses Determine your number of patient visits per month Determine true patient reimbursement value (with insurance) Divide your overhead cost by average number of visits to get your cost per visit Divide the cost per visit by the average income per visit to get your overhead percentage. Factor Insurance and Additional Costs It’s not uncommon for chiropractors to find themselves working with patients who are either not insured or underinsured. This can make it difficult to forecast certain patient costs, so make sure your patients are up to date on their insurance paperwork to avoid this type of headache. Don’t Forget About Chiropractor’s Fees This can vary by region or state, but chiropractors fees have generally increased over the years to specifically assist underinsured patients. If that’s the case, you should consider using the Discounted Medical Planning Organization (DMPO). This makes it easier for you to see patients who may be underinsured or simply don’t realize their insurance doesn’t cover all of the chiropractic care services they need.
Can Chiropractic Care Be Covered by Insurance?
What happens when a patient shows you their car insurance card to pay for your services? More often than not, this is one of the accepted forms of insurance to pay for chiropractic care services. About 87% of private insurance companies include chiropractic care as part of their medical coverage included in automotive policy. But here’s what to look out for when something isn’t covered. Typically, maintenance and wellness treatment plans aren’t covered by car insurance. It’s still worth double-checking as this isn’t always the case for every automotive policy. In addition to car insurance, U.S. military are eligible to use their government insurance for chiropractic care at over 120 federal bases and medical facilities. Some of the most common insurance providers that cover chiropractic care include: Aetna AVmed Blue Cross Blue Shield Cigna Humana UnitedHealthCare Most insurance policies will cover 50% to 100% of your care plans, so you can expect insurance companies to be the primary source of incoming revenue. You may also find some patients without insurance who are willing to pay up to $200 per visit depending on the service and type of treatment needed. Here are other factors insurance companies look at when providing coverage for services: Clinic location Tests and services Type of technology In the event you’re working with underinsured or patients without insurance, you may want to discuss potential finance or payment plans with them
Beginner’s Guide to Starting a Chiropractic Business
The primary motive of chiropractic care is to improve spinal mobility. This usually means correcting posture and alleviating various types of spinal pain. Patients often choose this treatment when they are unsatisfied with conventional treatments or when they want pain relief that traditional, western medicine cannot provide. Here are some tips for launching a chiropractic clinic. Choose the Best Software/EHR For Your Needs One of the most important investments you’ll make for your new business is choosing the right software for you. The best software for your business needs will support all aspects of effectively managing your practice. Since there are multiple options to choose from on the market, you should carefully research and weigh the pros and cons of each option based on its product features, price, and reputation. EHR solutions range from on-premise options to cloud-based software. Deciding which software is the best one for your practice requires laying out all your options, researching and evaluating reputable software vendors, and making a decision based on a combination of factors. As a final piece of advice for an up and coming chiropractor is to find the software that will not only have all the functionality you need today but the one that will also provide all the functionality you need to continue expanding your practice for years to come. We recommend that you carefully consider the software with the highest risk. Make a Website for Your Business Brand Before you start building awareness of your new clinic, it’s important to spend time setting up a simple website that will refer potential patients to your new clinic. Luckily, there are plenty of free services to help you quickly set up a professional-looking website with drag-and-drop elements and easy-to-use templates. Your website should accurately communicate your clinic’s mission and what patients can expect on their first visit. A patient first visit will set their expectations for every visit that follows. Automate Your Chiropractic Practice Workflow Spend your time focusing on running your day-to-day operations, while we streamline your processes, such as billing. Genesis billing software improves your patient communication, reduces patient no-shows, automates visit documentation, and easily implements ICD-10 documentation into your chiropractic practice. Our cloud-based software also manages your inventory, receives appointment reminders, and helps you maintain compliance with its HIPAA designed records and forms. Genesis was built to streamline your company’s overall practice management, increase retention, and drive more sales and revenue through a working chiropractic practice management software system. Helps generate profits. Chiropractic Software Reviews consistently rank Genesis Software, EHR, Chiropractic SOAP Notes, Customer Service, and Chiropractic Billing Services as industry leaders. Network In the weeks leading up to the launch of a new clinic, networking within the local community is very important and can pay off in the long run. It helps promote your practice, but there is no other way than to simply join the community and spread the word about your practice. Join your local Rotary club, attend community events, set up social media pages, and interact with other local business owners to build lasting partnerships that will benefit everyone involved . Other business owners may share a lot of valuable expertise in building and maintaining a thriving business in your area. Use your network for advice, mentoring, and inspiration as you set out to build your practice from scratch Our software platform is built on a unique chiropractic workflow management architecture that was specifically designed to automate most practice management tasks, starting with insurance claims. Additionally, our advanced chiropractic workflow management system offers automated alerts and task creation, so you can stay on task and stay on budget. Genesis was created from the ground up to eliminate the need for memory management, promote teamwork within your practice, and help manage patient communication and relationships. Genesis provides new clients with an easy-to-follow discovery process to see if the systematic approach of Genesis software is right for your practice. See how our solutions can help you to achieve your practice and business growth goals by filling out the form found here.