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Council approves new ambulance debt‑collection contract; city anticipates lower fees and higher recovery
Summary
The council approved a contract with EMS Management & Consultants Inc. (DBA EMSMC) to provide collection services for ambulance and EMS billing; staff said the new vendor’s fee will be 4.2% versus the current 8% arrangement, producing estimated savings and better recovery of insurance revenue and state charity reimbursements.
The Midland City Council on June 10 approved a resolution awarding a contract for ambulance/emergency medical services debt collection to EMS Management & Consultants, Inc., dba EMSMC.
City staff told council the new contract will reduce the commission or contingency rate the city pays for outside collections from about 8% under the prior arrangement to 4.2% under EMSMC. Staff said the lower rate will save approximately $200,000 compared with the prior arrangement and that EMSMC, as a specialty vendor, expects to improve collections by using established billing practices and by helping the city update an EMS fee schedule and draft a charity care policy that would allow the city to seek state reimbursements it previously did not receive.
Chuck Blumenauer, managing director of public safety, said the change is expected to result in both direct vendor fee savings and higher net revenue because EMSMC is specialized in ambulance billing and collections. He said all three vendors that presented to the city indicated Midland’s current EMS fee schedule is below insurance rates and that a revised schedule and a formal charity policy could restore $400,000–$800,000 in annual reimbursement previously available from the state, depending on the year.
Council discussion included questions about HIPAA and data privacy. Staff said EMSMC is HIPAA‑compliant and that vendor access to records would follow standard privacy safeguards; staff said collection vendors generally may share aggregate collection metrics but cannot disclose protected health information.
The governing motion passed unanimously. Staff said they will implement the new contract and return to council with any fee‑schedule changes and a proposed charity care policy that would meet state guidelines for reimbursement.
