Ambulance authority reports nearly break-even year but flags billing lag and staffing pressures

Roger (who identified himself in the meeting as representing the HCEAA) presented a year-to-date financial summary for ambulance services and said the authority had collected about $917,000 in service and other income while recording roughly $953,000 in operating expenses through the most recent reporting period.

"Bottom line is that's... that's not including the payment that was approved for an ambulance. So that had us pretty close on track at $35,000 off from what's been collected so far," the presenter said, describing service-billing shortfalls and an ongoing audit of billing practices intended to recover missed revenue.

He said delayed billing caused some shortfalls when one provider transitioned to a state billing site, but the transition had been finalized and a consultant (Jancare Diversified) is auditing collections. He also noted mutual-aid calls stressed staffing: several mutual-aid events required additional crews because some units were operating at partial staffing.

Roger called attention to House Bill 5168, which he said passed the House 94-0 and would (if enacted) direct about $12 million from the state lottery fund toward EMS services. "Fingers crossed that that'll pass and that there'll be some additional funding available," he said.

Commissioners asked for the bill number and for clarifications about expected revenue timing: the presenter noted an ambulance fee delinquency date of March 31 that is expected to bring catch-up revenue.

What happens next: The ambulance authority will finish the billing audit, present results to the commission at the March budget review, and monitor the state bill for any enacted funding changes.