Page 30 - 2021 MHA Start-up Guide

Alter delivery models as necessary. Imagine a scenario in which your Board decides it’s time to
expand your Program from one county to four. That’s wonderful, except you can’t get the staff to
perform your entire menu of services in each of those counties . When breadth is a problem, fo-
cus on depth. Scale your services down to fill the most pressing need within these communities.
You’ll make a bigger impact among more clients without spreading yourself too thin .

Cost assessment
It may be the least loved part of business planning, but every program must build out a cost
assessment and means of recouping those costs . Once your program is launched, chances are
new expenses will arise . Plan as much as possible (see Appendix A and the Section on “Budget”
below) and use your first few weeks of service as a budgeting exercise. Remember to track ev-
erything in the way of costs!

But first, answer the following:

• Will you charge clients a fee, bill their insurance/Medicaid or, in Canada, extended ben-
efits, or is this at no cost to the client?

• If you are billing, will you perform it in-house or outsource to a billing service?

• If you’re not billing, how will you recoup your costs?

• Which private and public funding sources can you leverage?

• Are there opportunities for sponsorship from an Accountable Care Organization?

• Can you utilize volunteers in both clinical and non-clinical positions?

• How many days per week and weeks per year will you be running? What will be your
service hours of operation?

• What is the maximum number of clients you can see per day while still providing quality
service?

• Can you purchase a used vehicle?

• Can you partner with another mobile program and share a vehicle?

28 MOBILE HEALTH CARE PROGRAM STAR T-UP GUIDE