Alpaca Health vs Passage Health
Passage Health is software for a practice you already run. Alpaca Health sets up the practice and runs the business side with you. If you are choosing ABA software, weighing alternatives, or thinking about switching, these are the differences that matter.
Alpaca Health and Passage Health compared
| Compared on | Alpaca Health | Passage Health |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to start | Alpaca Health$0 | Passage HealthSoftware subscription |
| Revenue share | Alpaca HealthShared on your first call | Passage HealthNone, software fee only |
| When you get paid | Alpaca HealthEvery 2 weeks, guaranteed | Passage HealthYou bill and collect |
| How long credentialing takes | Alpaca HealthUnder existing contracts | Passage HealthYou credential your practice |
| Who sources your clients | Alpaca HealthShared, referrals stay yours | Passage HealthYour practice |
| Who sources your RBTs | Alpaca HealthYou hire, Alpaca Health runs payroll | Passage HealthYour practice |
| Clinical software | Alpaca HealthBuilt in house | Passage HealthPassage Health is the software |
| Who owns the practice | Alpaca HealthYou do | Passage HealthYou do |
| States covered | Alpaca HealthTexas, Colorado, North Carolina, Hawaii, Michigan | Passage HealthNationwide software |
What it costs and what you keep
Passage Health charges a software subscription from the first month. Alpaca Health charges nothing to launch and takes a share of revenue once you are billing.
How long credentialing takes
Credentialing is the gap between leaving a salary and billing your first session.
Alpaca Health
You are credentialed under existing group contracts, including Medicaid, so you join contracts that already exist instead of applying for your own.
Passage Health
Passage Health tracks certification dates for your team inside the software. Applying to payers is work your practice does.
When you get paid
Payment timing sets how long a new practice has to cover payroll out of its own pocket.
Every two weeks, guaranteed
Alpaca Health pays on a fixed two-week cycle rather than when the insurer settles.
Denials and clawbacks absorbed
They sit with Alpaca Health, not with your practice, so a rejected claim does not become a hole in your payroll.
How Passage Health handles it
Passage Health submits claims and tracks payments inside the software. Your practice collects from the payer, so cash flow follows the insurer's timeline.
Who brings you clients and staff
Alpaca Health brings in leads. Passage Health gives you software to manage the clients your practice finds.
Where your clients come from
Passage Health publishes marketing guidance for practice owners. Finding clients is work your practice does.
Alpaca Health shares the work
Alpaca Health runs national marketing and press to bring in leads, and your practice does its own local outreach, so the referral relationships you build stay with you.
Who hires your RBTs
Your practice hires its own team either way. Alpaca Health runs the payroll, and Passage Health gives you timesheets and supervision tools.
What software you use
You will work in this software every day, and support comes from whoever builds it.
Alpaca Health builds its own
Scheduling, data collection, session notes, billing, intake and payroll run in one system built and maintained in house.
Passage Health is the software
Data collection, graphing, session notes, scheduling, claim submission and authorization tracking run in Passage Health, which works with over 7,000 payers.
What happens if you leave or switch
Who holds your payer contracts differs, and it matters if you move on.
Who holds the payer contracts?
With Passage Health your practice holds its own contracts, because your practice applied for them. With Alpaca Health you are credentialed under contracts that already exist.
What happens to your data?
Client records and session data live inside the software you use, and moving them takes planning.
Can you practise independently after?
You keep your own LLC and your own brand with Alpaca Health, so the practice remains yours.
Which states each company covers
Where a company is credentialed today decides where you can bill. Alpaca Health is credentialed in all five states below.
Alpaca Health covers five states
Passage Health sells nationwide
Passage Health is software, so it is not limited by state. Whether you can bill in your state depends on your own payer contracts.
Why BCBAs choose Alpaca Health
You own the practice and the brand, and Alpaca Health takes no equity in it.
Paid every two weeks, guaranteed
Alpaca Health pays on a fixed cycle and absorbs denials and clawbacks, so a rejected claim never lands on your payroll.
The business side is run for you
Credentialing, billing, intake and payroll are handled for you, and the software they run on is included.
Credentialed under existing contracts
You join insurance contracts that already exist, including Medicaid, across all five states Alpaca Health operates in.
If you are weighing other alternatives or thinking about switching, Alpaca Health is also compared with Headstart Health, Finni Health, Tilly Therapy, Success On The Spectrum and Hi-5 ABA. Compare all major ABA platforms.
Frequently asked questions
Does Passage Health take equity in my practice?
No. Passage Health is software you subscribe to, and Alpaca Health takes no equity either. With Alpaca Health you keep your own LLC and your own brand throughout.
What does Passage Health charge?
Passage Health sells a software subscription and gives pricing on a demo. Alpaca Health takes a share of revenue once billing begins and gives you its number directly on a first call, so you can model your take-home pay.
What happens to my insurance contracts if I leave?
With Passage Health your practice holds its own payer contracts, because your practice applied for them. Alpaca Health credentials you under contracts it already holds, which is what makes it fast. You keep your own LLC and your own brand either way.
Do I have to use a particular clinical software?
Yes with both. Passage Health is the software. Alpaca Health builds and maintains its own, so scheduling, notes, billing, intake and payroll sit in one system and support comes from the team that wrote it.
Which company operates in my state?
Passage Health is software, so it works in any state. Alpaca Health supports practices in Texas, Colorado, North Carolina, Hawaii and Michigan, and in those five you join insurance contracts that already exist there, including Medicaid.
Who brings in the clients?
Passage Health publishes marketing guidance, and finding clients is work your practice does. Alpaca Health shares it, running national marketing and press while your practice does its own local outreach, which means the referral relationships you build stay with you.
How does Alpaca Health compare with other ABA platforms?
Alpaca Health is compared with Headstart Health, Finni Health, Tilly Therapy, Passage Health, Success On The Spectrum and Hi-5 ABA on the same points, so you can line them up side by side. Compare all major ABA platforms.
Start your own ABA practice with Alpaca Health
Alpaca Health sets up your legal entity, credentials you under existing insurance contracts including Medicaid, and runs billing, payroll and intake on software built in house. You own the practice and the brand, and Alpaca Health takes no equity.