Home Health & Home Care
Open a home health agency that gets paid and stays compliant.
The license is only the start. Reimbursement, accreditation, and referral sources are where most agencies stall. We carry you through all of it.
The vertical
Skilled and non-medical care, licensed and reimbursable.
Whether you're opening a skilled home health agency or a non-medical home care organization, we handle the license, the accreditation, and the referral relationships that fill it.
The challenges founders face
Where this vertical usually stalls.
These are the recurring traps we see before founders reach us — and the ones we design the engagement to avoid.
Skilled vs. non-medical confusion
Home health and home care are different licenses, different regulators, and different payers. Choosing wrong costs months and money.
Medicare certification
Billing Medicare for skilled home health means CMS certification on top of state licensure — a process with its own survey and timeline.
Empty schedule
An agency with no referral relationships is an expensive license. Discharge planners refer to agencies they trust and can reach.
How we approach it
Built for your model — then carried through the file.
We don't hand back a plan. We set the structure, build the program, and stay on the file until it's approved.
Right structure first
We confirm skilled home health, non-medical home care, or both — and license each correctly so your payers line up with your services.
Certification & accreditation
We sequence state licensure, Medicare certification, and CHAP or ACHC accreditation so each step unlocks the next without dead time.
Referral engine
We build the relationships with hospitals, SNFs, and physician groups that actually generate consistent admissions.
What it requires
The standards California and the accreditors actually measure.
Completeness and consistency — not effort — are what clear review. Here's what has to be true before you open.
California licensure
Skilled agencies are licensed by CDPH; non-medical home care organizations register with the CDSS Home Care Services Bureau and maintain a registry of cleared aides.
Medicare certification
To bill Medicare for skilled services, agencies need CMS certification, typically achieved through an accrediting body with deeming authority.
Accreditation
CHAP and ACHC are the common accreditors for home health and carry Medicare deeming authority.
Background-check compliance
Home care aides must be registered and cleared; agencies must maintain the registry and ongoing compliance.
Accreditation we'll guide you through
- CHAP
- ACHC
- The Joint Commission
Your timeline
Five steps, sequenced so each one unlocks the next.
No dead time between licensure, accreditation, and opening — we order the work so the file keeps moving.
Structure & entity
Confirm skilled vs. non-medical, form the entity, and enroll.
State license
Assemble and file the CDPH or CDSS application and clear review.
Accredit & certify
Achieve CHAP/ACHC accreditation and Medicare certification.
Open & admit
Stand up intake and begin taking referrals.
Grow census
Build referral relationships and scale admissions.
We thought we were opening one business. GTR showed us we needed two licenses to serve the patients we wanted — and got us both.
FAQ
Questions founders ask us
What's the difference between home health and home care?
Home health is skilled, clinical care — nursing, therapy — usually billed to Medicare or insurance and licensed by CDPH. Home care is non-medical assistance with daily living, typically private-pay or long-term-care insurance, registered through CDSS. Many founders ultimately want both, but they are separate licenses.
Do I need Medicare certification to start?
Not necessarily. Some agencies start private-pay or with managed-care contracts and add Medicare certification later. We help you decide based on your market and capital.
How do I get hospitals to refer to us?
Discharge planners refer to agencies that are reliable, reachable, and accountable. We build that reputation deliberately — it's a core part of our growth work, not an afterthought.
Book a consultation
Tell us what you're building. We'll tell you how to open it.
A free, specific conversation about your model, your timeline, and the exact path to licensed and accredited in California.