Agenda Date: 9/22/15
Subject:
Title
Resolution adopting emergency medical transportation fees
Body
Presented By:
Doug Farmen, Finance Director
POLICY QUESTION:
Does city council support adopting revised emergency medical transportation fees?
BACKGROUND:
Littleton Fire Rescue (LFR) began transporting patients to hospitals in February of 1999. In July of 2000, LFR began charging for patient transport service. The transport program has been successful in reducing transport time for critically ill or injured patients, increasing the skill level of paramedics and reducing the cost of the Emergency Medical Service (EMS) program through revenue recovery as a TABOR Enterprise Fund. The rates and revenues, last updated in 2013, are lower than the program costs.
Emergency medical transportation program facts are:
* Annual transports are projected at 6,900 with 92% Advanced Life Support (ALS) and 8% Basic Life Support (BLS). ALS2 (extreme ALS) calls represent 2% of the total transports.
* The annual operating costs exceed $3.8 million.
* Costs of equipment, supplies and labor continue to rise and should be offset by transport rates.
STAFF ANALYSIS:
Analysis of annual transports, payer mix, collection rates and other factors, found that higher fees are recommended to maintain the current level of service.
City of Littleton Payer Mix
Payer Method
2014
Medicare
45%
Commercial Insurance
30%
Medicaid
16%
Self-Pay
9%
Total
100%
The Medicare/Medicaid payer mix shifted from 49% in 2007 to 61% in 2014. The increase resulted in reductions in payer mix to commercial insurance and self-pay patient accounts.
After two years of discussing a 'bundling' approach with the city's billing agent, staff is recommending this new billing approach. This approach incorporates itemized charges such as supplies (medications) and services (oxygen, blood draw, etc.) into single BLS, ALS, and ALS2 fees. The major advantages of this approach are: less i...
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