Our Transparent Billing Promise

How fees are calculated

Nova Health’s billing is straightforward. It is based on $1,000 for each 1-hour physiotherapy session. If you complete the 1st session on 2 October and the 2nd session on 16 October, the system sends a monthly invoice by WhatsApp on 30 October. Two sessions attended are charged as two sessions, $2,000 in total, and the family simply pays by bank transfer according to the invoice.

Why we do not offer prepaid packages

“Simple, direct and transparent” has been our basic principle since Nova Health was founded. We believe that a good business model must be built around the long-term interests of the client.

There is certainly no shortage of prepaid packages, buy-four-get-one-free offers and discounts for spending above a set amount. These methods can raise the spend per client and the retention rate, but we keep asking ourselves why keeping a client should depend on contracts and a number of sessions.

We believe that word of mouth, reputation and quality of service are what really keep clients. Good service never needs to rely on “remaining sessions” to tie a family down. Just as important, packages easily create path dependence: when a team gets used to keeping clients by selling sessions in advance, its drive to keep improving the service weakens. Holding to “no packages” is our long-term commitment to keeping the quality of service high.

Arrangements when an older person has an appointment or needs to cancel

Nova Health is a business, and it is also a team of health and care professionals serving the public interest. We know that the daily lives of older people and caregivers are full of change: sometimes there is a medical appointment, and sometimes the older person feels unwell and needs to cancel. We never want a family to go ahead with a session because they are afraid of “losing a session”. This is why we built a flexible scheduling system, putting the older person’s wellbeing first.

The number of sessions follows the older person’s physical condition

More importantly, a package system easily encourages overtreatment. Nova Health does not pursue that kind of KPI. We provide as much service as the client really needs, which removes the incentive for overtreatment from the way our income is structured. The WHO does recommend that older people do exercise that includes balance and strength training on at least three days a week. If the older person is not ready at that time, however, pushing ahead with a package of high-intensity, fixed sessions only works against them. We hope that families will book flexibly according to the older person’s real physical condition.

Try one or two sessions first and then decide

Many families are still unfamiliar with home medical services, and families naturally worry about whether the older person can adjust. A simple, pay-per-session model gives caregivers more peace of mind about trying it out. We warmly welcome you to try one or two sessions first. After a session we will never send any sales message or keep pressing you. Only by giving real room to try can doubts be cleared and trust gradually built.

Our view on the cost of home healthcare

A private organisation needs to run its business, but we believe that protecting the greatest interest of the public and of older people is the foundation of sustainable healthcare. We hope to lead by example, so that a “simple, direct and transparent” way of charging becomes the new mainstream of the home healthcare market.