Ambulance Medical Billing is generating additional revenue since taking over the billing service for Warren County EMS.
From July 1, 2016 to July 31, 2017, AMB collected $2.01 million. AMB was paid $116,060 for its services, leaving the county with approximately $1.9 million.
During that same timeframe the year prior, the department collected $1.86 million on its own.
That means, after expenses, AMB collected $39,369 in additional money for the county while earning roughly three times that for itself.
The information was presented during a county Safety Committee meeting.
“Right now, our net collections are at 86 percent,” said Lauren Root, AMB sales representative. “An easier way of looking at that is we have a goal of what we want your revenue per run to be. Our goal for you guys is $330 per run. We set that goal based on what you were doing prior to us taking over the billing. We are at $327.30. We are $2.70 short of our goal. We have a little bit to go in order to meet that goal, but we are still doing better than what you were doing prior to us taking over.”
According to EMS director Preston Denney, the department was collecting between $312 and $314 per run before AMB took over.
Root says the county has uncollected revenue that totals $691,000 from AMB’s first year that needs to be turned over to a collection service or written off because AMB deals with insurance collection, not bad debt collection.
“Right now, 39 percent of your total annual revenue is patient balance,” said Root. “That’s a pretty high percentage. We try very hard to find some form of insurance under every call you run. Just because an insurance isn’t listed on the run form doesn’t mean we stop looking. Some don’t even realize they have insurance.”
Commissioner Carl D. Bouldin asked if that 39 percent was people without insurance or self-employed individuals.
“That 39 percent includes private pay and individuals with high-deductible plans where the actual balance becomes the patient’s responsibility,” said Root.
Bouldin added, “So we’re picking up a lot with high deductibles?”
“A ton,” said Root. “That change happened a few years ago with ObamaCare. People have insurance but they have $6,500 deductibles. That turns into private pay. It caused a huge shift in EMS billing. That’s why your patient balance is so high. It’s not just you. It’s across the board.”
Ambulance revenue is always unpredictable, says Root.
“When county commissioners and mayors set their budgets, they believe the EMS revenue every year is going to climb a little bit,” she said. “That’s not always the case."