Business phone system for home health care agencies in Montana

How many home health care agencies operate in Montana

The Census Bureau counted 102 home health care agencies in Montana in its 2023 County Business Patterns (NAICS 621610). They employed 2,200 people in mid-March and reported $78.4 million in annual payroll. That is the 44th highest count among the 51 states and DC with published figures. Home health care agencies make up 0.24% of the 42,566 business establishments in the state.

Per 100,000 residents (2024 estimate) Montana has 9.0 home health care agencies, 25.2% below the national rate of 12.0. The average establishment has 21.6 employees against 39.7 nationally. Payroll per employee is $35,621, 6.5% below the U.S. figure of $38,091.

Where home health care agencies in Montana are concentrated

Census published home health agency counts for 7 metro or micropolitan areas that include part of Montana. The largest is Billings, MT, with 15 establishments. Single-state metro and micropolitan areas account for 79% of the statewide total; the rest are outside any published area or in areas Census suppressed.

Team sizes at home health care agencies in Montana

42.2% of Montana's home health care agencies with employees had fewer than five people in March 2023, compared with 35.7% nationally. 53.9% had fewer than ten. At that size the phone is shared, so routing (who rings, when, and what happens after hours) matters more than the number of desk phones.

Calls a home health agency in Montana has to catch

Home health agencies coordinate clinicians in the field with patients, families, physicians and payers, so the office phone is a dispatch line as much as a reception desk. Clinicians need to make calls from their own cell phones without exposing personal numbers.

A few of the calls that come in to home health care agencies in Montana:

• A patient calls to report a missed visit.
• A family member calls to ask what time the nurse will arrive.
• A hospital discharge planner calls with a new referral.

Texting patients and families

Agencies use texting to confirm visit windows with patients and families.

Texting from a local number in Montana requires carrier registration (10DLC), a one-time $49 fee on Callata.

What a phone system costs a home health agency in Montana

Home health care agencies in Montana average 21.6 employees, so the comparison uses a 22-person team. On a per-user plan that headcount sets the bill: $548.90 a month on Ooma Office Pro or $660.00 on RingCentral RingEX Core at list price (checked September 28, 2026). Callata comes to $439.00 a month for 22 users ($99 a month with 5 users included, then $20 per additional user), below both.

Over a year, that is $2,652 less than RingCentral for a home health agency in Montana of that size. Annual contracts lower some competitors' prices, so compare the plan you would actually sign.

Area codes in Montana

Montana has 1 geographic area code in service according to NANPA. Callata includes up to 3 local numbers, so a home health agency can hold a number in more than one of them.

How Callata works for home health care agencies in Montana

Callata is a business phone system priced at $99 a month with 5 users included, then $20 per additional user. Callata Office includes up to 3 local business numbers, unlimited inbound calling, 1,500 pooled outbound US and Canada minutes per user each month, a browser softphone that can also ring your cell, voicemail with transcription, call recording with AI summaries, business-hours routing and E911 on every number.

Porting a number you already use in Montana is free, and business texting is available once the carrier registration (10DLC) is approved; the registration carries a one-time $49 fee. Which specific numbers are open in a given area code depends on carrier inventory at the time you sign up.

AI agents are optional: an AI receptionist or scheduler can pick up when the team is busy or closed, take a message, send a text or email, or transfer the call. They draw on prepaid AI minutes ($0.25/minute), disclose that they are AI, and outbound AI calls require prior consent and are limited to 8am–9pm.

Practices that handle protected health information should review their own privacy obligations before recording calls, enabling AI summaries or texting appointment details, and keep clinical conversations out of text messages unless their policies allow it.