How do I find a non-emergency medical transport company for sale?

Companies that move patients to dialysis, appointments and home from hospital are small, local and often run by one owner for many years. They are listed under different names, and the best ones may not be listed at all. A buyer who searches in only one place will miss most of them, so plan on working several routes at once and keeping notes on each lead.

Search the listings under several names

Try wheelchair transportation, handicap transportation, medical transportation, patient transfer and non-emergency transport on listing sites and broker pages. Descriptions are often vague about the town and the customers, so save your searches and set alerts. A broker who handles transportation or health-related businesses may know of an owner thinking about a sale before anything is posted.

Reach owners through the people they work with

Long-term care homes, dialysis units, rehabilitation centres and discharge planners all know which transport companies are reliable. Ask them politely who is local, without asking for anything confidential. Your accountant, a vehicle dealer that converts wheelchair vans and trade associations may also hear when an owner is near retirement. A short, respectful letter that promises confidentiality is often how that conversation starts.

Screen before you ask for the books

• Does most of the work come from a few contracts, or from many private riders?
• Are the vehicles adapted for wheelchairs or stretchers, and who owns them?
• Do the drivers hold the training the work requires, and will they stay?
• Is the company a ride service, or does it do more clinical work?

Know what you are looking at

Our page on what a non-emergency transport company actually does explains the model, and the buying guide covers the steps after you find a good lead. The supply-store search page shows a similar approach for a different health-related business.