Written by Jo-Ann Thibault

Do you need to hire private pay home health care ? Important information for you to know before doing so……

Massachusetts does not regulate private pay home care agencies; therefore, anyone can open a private pay agency, and hire anyone they want to be “caregivers”. It is important that you ask the following questions when choosing a private pay home care agency:

Who owns/manages the agency? It is important that you know who the principle owner and/or manager is of a private pay agency. Do they have a background in healthcare ? And if so, what is it, and how long have they been in the healthcare field? Ask what their experience is and make sure you feel comfortable with their experience before doing business with them. You wouldn’t buy legal advice from someone who is not a lawyer or legal representative? Would you?

How long have they been in business? You want to deal with someone who has been in business or at least in the field of home health care , healthcare or nursing for a substantial amount of time. If they have only been in business for less than 5 years, but has 20 years of healthcare background, or other customer service background – you may feel that is OK.

Does the agency have professional liability insurance? Also known as Errors and Omissions insurance, Professional Liability insurance protects the employer from potentially catastrophic litigation caused by charges of professional negligence or failure to perform professional duties. This might include errors and omissions resulting in claims of non-performance, negligent oversell or physical harm or potential harm to you or your loved ones. You need to protect yourself and your loved ones from any liability incidents that may occur while you are contracting their services. This is a must. You also have the right to request a copy of their Certificate of Liability.

Does the agency provide Workers Compensation to their employees? You want the agency you are dealing with to provide workers compensation insurance to their employees to protect your assets if an employee is hurt while under providing the contracted services requested.

Are the employees Bonded? Companies that Bond their employees, insures you’ll get reimbursed in a timely manner if one of their employees steal from you, and are convicted of it. Companies that do not bond their employees, still may repay you in the event of a proven theft from their employee, but it is not guaranteed and could be timely, or not happen at all.

Does the agency employ Registered Nurses for Supervision and Case Management? There are several reasons you want a Registered Nurse working for the agency you contract for services:

Comprehensive Client Evaluation: They should offer to send a nurse out to you to evaluate your needs, so they can match your needs to the appropriate caregiver.

Case Management: The nurse should be assigned to you for...