CCT Transport RN. Independent Contractor? Do I need to Incorporate?

[PMHNP2023, RN]

I have a side job working for a someone (lets call them John) that owns their own company that basically provides a roster of nurses to an ambulance company and they run "Critical Care Transports" with a contract for a large hospital organization, where they pick up sick patients from clinics and bring them to specific hospital ERs or inpatient rooms (repatriation). The ambulance company provides the ambulance, EMTs, iPad for charting. John (the business owner of the nursing company) provides the supplies/medications and the calls/runs for a group of about 30 nurses. As a nurse, I basically give John my schedule and then go to the ambulance station, check out my supplies, and then get calls from their dispatch to meet an ambulance crew somewhere where they pick me up and then we go to a clinic or hospital to pick up a patient and bring them to another hospital. All the jobs are for a large hospital organization, which John (the nurse business owner) has the contract with.

I keep track of all the calls I do and at the end of the month I send John a list of calls, and John pays me as a 1099 employee.

John mentioned that we needed to file our business certificate required by the city (San Diego). Some of the nurses are incorporated or have an LLC.

I'm curious if this is required/needed? I hold malpractice insurance. I report my income and pay taxes to the IRS. Do I need to incorporate as well for any reason?

[NICU Guy, BSN, RN]

So, "John" owns a nurse staffing company, but the nurses are not employees, but independent contractors (red flag). Does he also own the ambulance company? Does this nursing company have a Medical Director? Do you have standing orders from a physician for medications you administer?

You are an independent contractor. You are not an employee of the ambulance company which means you are personally liable for everything you do.

I may be wrong, but something doesn't seem right with this arrangement.