HomeMy WebLinkAboutR-2004-207 Setting Fees for the transport of patients to local hospitals by the City of Dania Beach Fire-rescue department RESOLUTION NO. 2004-207
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF DANIA BEACH,FLORIDA,SETTING FEES
FOR THE TRANSPORT OF PATIENTS TO LOCAL HOSPITALS BY THE CITY
OF DANIA BEACH FIRE-RESCUE DEPARTMENT; PROVIDING FOR A
"COMPASSION POLICY"; PROVIDING FOR CONFLICTS; FURTHER,
PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS,.CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) of the United States
Department of Health and Human Services has implemented changes in the structure of transport
fees with such changes to become effective January 1, 2005; and
WHEREAS,it is recommended that the City adjust its transport fees to be consistent with
such changes; and
WHEREAS, the City wishes to provide a "Compassion Policy" allowing options for the
payment of such transport fees;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE
CITY OF DANIA BEACH, FLORIDA:
Section 1. That the following fees for the transport of patients to local hospitals by the City
of Dania Beach Fire-Rescue Department are approved:
ADVANCED LIFE SUPPORT II
$550.00 PLUS $9.00 per mile
ADVANCED LIFE SUPPORT I (Emerizency)
$450.00 plus $9.00 per mile
BASIC LIFE SUPPORT Emer1jency
$450.00 plus $9.00 per mile
Section 2. That the"Compassion Policy"allowing options for the payment of such transport
fees, a copy of which is attached to this Resolution, is approved for City use.
Section 3. That all resolutions or parts of resolutions in conflict with this Resolution are
repealed to the extent of such conflict.
Section 4. That this Resolution shall be in force and take effect immediately upon its passage
and adoption.
PASSED AND ADOPTED on December 14, 2004.
C.K. ELY
MAYOR- COMMISSIONER
ATTEST: ROLL CALL:
• ' �� _x�� � COMMISSIONER ANION- YES
-d COMMISSIONER CHUNN- YES
LOUISE STILSON COMMISSIONER FLURY- YES
CITY CLERK VICE-MAYOR MIKES- YES
MAYOR MCELYEA- YES
APPROVED WORM AND CORRECTNESS
BY: /,'
THOM S J.�ANSBRO
CITY ATTORNEY
2 RESOLUTION NO. 2004-207
ATTACHMENT "A"
CITY OF DANIA BEACH
COMPASSION POLICY
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services(CMS)of the United States Department of Health and
Human Services Manual, Chapter 16, Section 50.3, provides that:
A [State or Local government] facility which reduces or waives its charges for patients
unable to pay, or charges patients only to the extent of their Medicare and other health
insurance coverage, is not viewed as furnishing free services and may therefore receive
program payment.
OVERVIEW
Dania Beach Fire Rescue has approved uniform policies and procedures for the determination of
"unsponsored charity care". These policies and procedures shall be applicable and effective January
1, 2005. Unless a patient has been rated financially indigent or a reduction consistent with the
financially indigent patient or an estate representative has been established, the patient or other
responsible party under applicable contracts,laws, or regulations,is fully expected to pay the entire
. bill in a timely manner.
No patient account(s) will be considered for reduction without the proper written request,
documentation or both from the patient, legal representative, or family member.
All patient accounts must be reviewed uniformly by definition of the components of unsponsored
charity care. This shall be accomplished by the Dania Beach Fire Rescue Transport Reimbursement
Executive Board. This board shall consist of the city attorney, finance director, and the EMS
Coordinator.
DEFINITIONS AND POLICY
Unsponsored Charity Care
Financially Indigent. Unsponsored charity care shall include unreimbursed services to the
financially indigent. Financially indigent shall mean uninsured or underinsured patients with no
obligation or a discounted obligation to pay for services rendered based on Dania Beach's formal
eligibility which may include: (a) income levels; or (b) other criteria for determining a patient's
inability to pay that are consistent with the service's mission and established policy.The Department
of Health and Human Services Poverty Guidelines shall serve as an index for the threshold below
which patients receiving care from Dania Beach Fire Rescue are deemed financially indigent.
3 RESOLUTION NO. 2004-207
• Charity Care Determination
No patient shall be awarded any write-off financial or otherwise without the approval by the Dania
Beach Fire Rescue Transport Reimbursement Board.The determination may be made after review of
documentation of a hardship as submitted by the patient.In order to facilitate the review process,the
Transport Reimbursement Board may examine copies of recent Federal tax returns, itemization of
sources of revenue for the current year and anticipated expenses,and any other documentation which
may prove evidence of hardship. All information submitted will be kept confidential to the extent
provided by law.
Contractual Adjustments
Contractual Adjustments to commercial contracts, Medicare or both shall not be counted as
unsponsored charity care.
Bad Debt
Bad debts shall not be counted as unsponsored charity care. Bad debts shall include the uncollected
billed charges for services rendered to patients who do not qualify under the definition of
unsponsored charity care. Contractual adjustments shall not be considered bad debt.
•
4 RESOLUTION NO. 2004-207
ADVANCED
DATA PROCESSING, INC.
520 NW 1651h St, Suite 201 Miami, Florida 33169
November 8, 2004
Mr. Cassano
Deputy Fire Chief
City of Dania Beach
102 West Dania Beach Blvd
Dania Beach, FL 33004
Dear Chief Cassano,
I would like to thank you and Captain Caruso for a very productive meeting on
September 1, 2004. I apologize for not following up sooner but due to the hurricanes it
has been extremely hectic, as I am sure you know. I sincerely hope we accomplished
your goals and objectives.
During our meeting we discussed several issues that would assist the city in attaining
their financial goals, including:
✓ Increasing the city's BLS, ALS1, ALS2, and Mileage fees to the new ADPI
recommended fees (see attached). This would ensure the maximum
reimbursement from all insurance carriers as well as bring your fees mline with
the market.
✓ Eliminate the oxygen fee and roll into base fees.
✓ Adopt a"Compassion" Policy for indigents. This allows the city to forgive
debts for those patients who truly cannot afford to pay their bill.
✓ Develop a"Resident Only"Policy, which would bill insurance only for city
residents and allow the city to bill non-residents directly.
✓ To ensure the highest possible reimbursement for auto accidents, it is critical to
obtain the police report and send to ADPI as soon as possible. If this does not
occur in a timely manner the hospital may be able to exhaust the PIP portion of
a patient's auto policy (normally $10,000)prior to the city's bill being paid.
Ilk
ADVANCED
`n' DATA PROCESSING, INC .
In addition to the above, ADPI has already begun researching another source of potential
revenue by charging for additional items related to motor vehicle accidents such as the
cleaning of spills and debris, extrication of entrapped individuals, extinguishments of
fires, and render other safe services or hazardous situations that may occur at the scene of
motor vehicle accidents. As soon as we have completed our research on the above I will
notify Captain Caruso of our findings. If there are any additional items that should be on
the list above please do not hesitate to contact me.
We are in the service business, so we really appreciate the opportunity to spend time with
an important client such as the City of Dania Beach. If there is anything else I can do,
please do not hesitate to call.
• Best Regards,
Darryl Hartung
Senior Manager
CC: Captain Bruce Caruso
•
• ADVANCED
DATA PROCESSING, INC.
Recommended Fees
BLS = $450
ALS 1 = $450
ALS2 = $550
Mileage = $9
•
•