Will Obamacare Benefit Healthcare Franchises?

The majority of the franchise industry disapproves of the Affordable Care and Patient Protection Act. Many franchises have voiced their concerns that the healthcare reforms will cripple the franchising industry’s future growth and discourage franchisees from expanding.

 

But what about healthcare franchises and senior care franchises? Will they actually benefit from the Affordable Care and Patient Protection Act?

 

In light of President Obama’s healthcare overhaul the growth of the healthcare industry as a whole is expected to slow. Many Americans live paycheck to paycheck and remain hesitant to spend– even on healthcare.

 

Despite the anticipated sluggish progress of the healthcare industry, those businesses and franchises associated with or that accept Medicaid or Medicare will benefit in some  way from the Affordable Care and Patient Protection Act:

  • Primary care providers, physicians who serve as a patient’s main source of non-emergency healthcare, are expected to get a 73 percent raise if they are Medicaid doctors. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that Medicaid will gain 7 million new enrollees in 2014.
  • Employers already take 7.65 percent of workers’ wages to support the elderly and disabled, 1.45 percent of which will go toward Medicare hospital bills.
  • Two new Medicare tax increases will fund the senior healthcare program. Those making $200,000 as a single filer (or $250,000 joint filers) will each pay 0.9 percent more for the Medicare hospital tax.

 

Long term care insurance gives seniors control of their assets and a choice as to how and where they receive senior care services. This insurance covers hospice care, nursing facilities and adult care facilities. Some policies cover health care services, respite care and adult day care services.

Medicare does not pay for all senior care and usually only provides limited coverage for services provided in nursing facilities and home care settings. Assisted living is not covered by Medicare. Medicare will only pay for extended home health care services if a stringent set of conditions is met. The extent of Medicaid’s coverage is limited and similar to that of Medicare.

Q&A With Mimi Zeller of LivHOME Senior Care Franchises

We sat down with Senior Vice President of Franchising Mimi Zeller to discuss LivHOME franchisees and what makes this senior care franchise so special.

How did you become involved with LivHOME? What does your job entail? I became involved with LivHOME because I believe in the LivHOME business model and at-home senior care is something I strongly believe in. As Senior Vice President of Franchising, it’s my job to oversee franchise development and the franchise operations for the entire company. It’s a unique and rewarding opportunity to offer a franchisee.

 

What makes it a unique at-home senior care franchise? What about the business model attracted you? LivHOME’s home care model gives clients a better quality of life in their own homes. The model also provides franchisees the opportunity to compete on quality, not prices, and deliver a differentiated, higher quality home care service to their community. I’m delighted to be part of a team that can do this for families and business owners.

 

Have you ever been a franchisee? What’s your business background? I’ve never been a franchisee, but I have worked with more than 5,000 franchise operators in my 25 years in the franchising industry. I began my career in franchising while working with Domino’s Pizza, Inc. in their world headquarters. While at their west coast regional office, I oversaw 725 franchise locations in 8 western states as the Franchise Operations Director. Later, I was the Senior Vice President of Operations for Mail Boxes, Etc., now The UPS Store, for 3,400 domestic franchises. To round it all out, I was also the CEO of a regional fast-casual food franchise.

 

Wow, that’s quite a bit of franchise industry experience. What’s been the most rewarding part of being a part of a franchise? The most rewarding part of working in a franchise is seeing individuals realize their dreams of owning their own business. LivHOME also offers the opportunity to do something good on a daily basis and help seniors in need.

 

Could you quickly describe for me the franchisee selection process to me? What do you look for in a potential franchisee? Do you have a profile in mind? We look for franchisees who are passionate, driven, can follow LivHOME’s process and standards, and are interested in working full-time in the business.

 

How extensive is the training for your new franchisees? Do you try and develop personal relationships with them? LivHOME has five training stages: pre-training, training in Los Angeles, post-training, on-site opening training and ongoing training.

 

Tell me more about the ongoing training and support you provide. Ongoing support is one of the key components of our overall franchise support process. We believe in effective communication with our franchisees and offer face-to-face support as well as extensive online programs a franchise intranet, and sharing of best practices.

 

What do your franchisees cite as the most rewarding part of their jobs? LivHOME franchisees experience a rewarding and personally fulfilling life by providing much needed services on a daily basis to those in need. And making a great living doing it.

 

What can we expect from LivHOME in the years to come? You can expect national expansion of a professionally led home care franchise.

 

How’s business? Is LivHOME growing? Yes! Our model has a very reasonable initial investment as compared to other franchises.