Pick your current role. See how Coral Care compares — pay, admin, schedule control, and the things job postings leave out.
No fees · No minimums · 8 states
The school calendar, pension, and structure are real. Here's where Coral Care is different — and where you're giving something up.
| School-Based (W-2) | ★ Coral CareCoral Care (1099) |
|---|---|
| Pay | Pay |
| Salary, $55K–$80KStep scale, district-dependent | $65–$85/session · $100–$130 evalsBiweekly, not when insurance settles |
| $100K+ rare — capped by salary bands | $100K+ realistic with a full caseload |
| Salaried — no-shows don't affect your pay | Protected |
| Admin | Admin |
| Heavy — IEPs, eligibility reports, progress notesMany SLPs spend as much time on docs as therapy | CoralPro — under 10 min/session |
| District handles credentialing & billing | Coral Care handles credentialing & billing |
| Schedule & Caseload | Schedule & Caseload |
| School calendar — district controls your hours | 100% yours |
| Assigned — often 60–70+ studentsASHA recommends a max of 40 for school SLPs | You set it — no minimums, no cap |
| Whatever your district assigns | Your specialty only — sensory, feeding, AAC, gait |
| IEP mandates and service hour requirements | No quotas — ever |
| Clinical Setting | Clinical Setting |
| Pull-out or push-inOften 20–30 min in noisy environments | In-home — child's actual environment45–60 min where carryover happens |
| Limited family involvement — IEP meetings only | Caregivers present every session — coaching built in |
| Benefits | Benefits |
| Employer health insurance | You purchase — ACA marketplaceFull breakdown → |
| Pension or 401(k) with district match | Solo 401(k) — higher limits, you fund it |
| School calendar + holidays | You set your own schedule — take time when you choose |
The school calendar, pension, and benefits are genuinely hard to replace. If those matter to your life right now, that's a real reason to stay. The therapists who thrive with Coral Care have usually hit the ceiling on what a district can offer clinically — high caseloads, 20-minute pull-outs, no specialty control. Many school-based therapists try Coral Care during summers first, before making any bigger decision. Here's how that works →
EI's family-coaching model and home-based work translate directly. Here's what changes — and what gets significantly better.
| EI Agency (1099 or W-2) | ★ Coral CareCoral Care (1099) |
|---|---|
| Pay | Pay |
| Per visit, $30–$55/hrState contract rates — often haven't kept pace with the market | $65–$85/session · $100–$130 evalsCommercial insurance rates — significantly stronger |
| $100K+ rare at EI rates | $100K+ realistic with a full caseload |
| Biweekly or monthlyVaries by agency | Biweekly — always |
| Often unpaid if 1099 | Protected |
| Admin | Admin |
| IFSPs + session notes — significant load | CoralPro — under 10 min/session |
| Agency handles credentialing | Coral Care handles — first patients in ~2 weeks |
| Agency handles billing — takes a cut of state rate | Coral Cover — all claims and denials. You never see a remittance. |
| Schedule & Caseload | Schedule & Caseload |
| Set by agency territory and availability | 100% yours — you define your radius and hours |
| Birth to 3 onlyFamilies age out at 3 — constant turnover | Birth through adolescence — you follow kids longer |
| Clinical Setting | Clinical Setting |
| In-home — strong family involvement, IFSP coaching | In-home — same setting, same model |
| Birth to 3 population | You can follow children through the age-3 transition and beyond |
| Benefits | Benefits |
| If W-2 — not if 1099 (most EI is 1099) | You purchase — ACA marketplaceFull breakdown → |
| Often none at 1099 | Solo 401(k) or SEP-IRA — higher limits than most employer plans |
If you came from EI, you already know how to work in someone's home, involve caregivers, and adapt to real environments. That's exactly what Coral Care families need. The biggest differences are pay, age range — you're no longer losing every family at age 3 — and documentation burden. Thinking about leaving EI? Read this first →
Solo practice gives you the highest ceiling. Coral Care gets you there faster, with significantly less overhead — in exchange for not owning the infrastructure yourself.
| Solo Private Practice | ★ Coral CareCoral Care (1099) |
|---|---|
| Pay | Pay |
| Per session — you keep it allAfter billing service fees (5–8% of collections) | $65–$85/session · $100–$130 evalsConfirmed before your first patient |
| 60–90 day lag — after insurance pays | Biweekly — always. Not when insurance settles. |
| $3K–$10K+ first-year overheadCredentialing, EMR, malpractice, marketing, billing service | $0 to join — ever |
| Not protected until you enforce a cancellation policy | Protected from day one |
| Admin | Admin |
| Billing — 5–10 hrs/week unpaidOr pay a billing service 5–8% of collections | Coral Cover — every claim handled. You never see a remittance. |
| Credentialing: 3–6 months, 6–10 payers, all on you | Coral Cred — handled completely. First patients in ~2 weeks. |
| You build your patient pipeline from scratchReferral relationships, directories, marketing — slow | Coral Flow — continuous local matching. You approve each one. |
| Your EMRMonthly cost, setup, learning curve | CoralPro — built for pediatric in-home. Under 10 min/session. Free. |
| Schedule & Caseload | Schedule & Caseload |
| 100% yours | 100% yours |
| Your specialty only | Your specialty only — Coral Build matches accordingly |
| No quotas | No quotas — ever |
| Benefits | Benefits |
| ACA marketplace — you purchase | Same — ACA marketplaceFull breakdown → |
| Solo 401(k) or SEP-IRA — you fund it | Same |
| You own the practice — full autonomy and upside | You own your caseload — Coral Care owns the infrastructure |
If you've already built a full solo practice with credentialing, referrals, and billing running smoothly — Coral Care probably isn't the right move. You've done the hard work and you own everything. This comparison matters most for therapists considering solo practice who haven't started yet, or who are 1–2 years in and still spending 8+ hours a week on admin. Real cost comparison: solo vs. Coral Care →
Clinics offer stability and benefits. The hidden costs are productivity quotas, caseload pressure, and the gap between what you earn and what your work generates.
| Clinic (W-2) | ★ Coral CareCoral Care (1099) |
|---|---|
| Pay | Pay |
| Salary, $60K–$85KBenefits add ~20–25% in employer cost on top | $65–$85/session · $100–$130 evalsBiweekly via Coral Pay |
| $100K+ possible — productivity requirements limit effective rate | $100K+ realistic — no ceiling |
| Productivity quotas: 75–85% billableNo-shows hit your metrics even when you have no control | No productivity quotas — ever |
| Partially protected — quotas still apply to no-shows | Protected |
| Admin | Admin |
| Clinic handles billing & credentialing | Coral Care handles billing & credentialing |
| Clinic EMRVaries — some efficient, some cumbersome | CoralPro — under 10 min/session |
| Schedule & Caseload | Schedule & Caseload |
| Set by clinic — hours, days, volume | 100% yours |
| Assigned — may include outside your specialty | Your specialty only |
| Contracted hours and minimums | No minimums — ever |
| Clinical Setting | Clinical Setting |
| Clinic — child and family travel to you | In-home — child's actual environmentBetter carryover, stronger family involvement |
| 45–60 min sessions, back-to-back | 45–60 min — you control pacing |
| Brief parent check-ins | Caregivers present every session |
| Benefits | Benefits |
| Employer health insurance | You purchase — ACA marketplaceFull breakdown → |
| 401(k) with employer match | Solo 401(k) — higher contribution limits, you fund it |
| PTO — typically 10–15 days/year | You set your own schedule — take time when you choose |
Health insurance and a 401(k) match are baked into your total compensation in a way that's easy to forget when you're looking at salary alone. Before you compare, run the full math: salary plus the dollar value of your employer's health contribution, the match, and your PTO days. For many clinic-based therapists who do this exercise, the gap is smaller than expected. Full benefits breakdown →
The intro call is 30 minutes, no commitment.