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Revenue Recovery - Helping Us Serve You Even Better
What is the cost of emergency ambulance transportation, and how is it
paid?
Citizens in need of emergency ambulance transportation will be charged
according to the type of service received and the distance of transport
to the hospital, beginning with a base charge of $350. The charge for
emergency ambulance transportation will be billed to the patient's insurance
provider, Medicare or Medicaid. Patients without health-care coverage
will be billed directly. If an ambulance responds, but the patient is
not transported, there will be no charge.
Revenue Recovery is the process of obtaining financial reimbursement
for the cost of providing medically necessary emergency ambulance transportation.
Medicare, Medicaid and most private insurance policies already allow for
reimbursement for this service.
When citizens call 911, ambulances are dispatched immediately. Patients
will be treated and, if necessary, transported to a hospital emergency
department. At the hospital, patients will be asked to sign a Patient
Care Report for billing purposes. If the patient is unable to sign at
the time of transport, a claim form will be forwarded to their insurance
provider on his or her behalf. A follow-up signature letter will be sent
to the patient.
What if I don't have insurance and can't afford to pay?
All patients will be treated and transported, regardless of their ability
to pay. No one should ever be afraid to call 911 because of concern about
the billing process. There's plenty of time to take care of that after
we've taken care of your medical emergency!
Citizens
also will be able to subscribe to EMS
Passport, a yearly subscription program designed to help citizens
pay out-of-pocket expenses resulting from emergency ambulance transportation.
How will the billing process work?
The process is similar to that which happens when a person receives
services from a doctor or other health-care provider. First, the patient
receives the service - emergency ambulance transportation to a hospital
emergency department. Second, a claim is sent to the patient's insurance
provider. The patient then receives an Explanation of Benefits statement
from the insurance provider showing the amount the insurance provider
was billed and how much the provider paid toward the claim. The statement
will also show what balance, if any, is owed by the patient for expenses,
such as co-payments or deductibles.
EMS Passport subscribers will not receive a bill for medically necessary
emergency ambulance transportation because their expenses will be paid
through their participation in the program. All other patients will be
responsible for any amounts due.
Funds from EMS Passport
subscriptions will be distributed to the organization that normally responds
to your address. The Bensley-Bermuda, Ettrick-Matoaca, Forest View and
Manchester volunteer rescue squads will continue to need your donations
to fund their operations, regardless of the Revenue Recovery Program.
For more information about Revenue Recovery or EMS
Passport, please call Chesterfield Fire and Emergency Medical Services
at 768-7524. For those calling from outside the Richmond metropolitan
area,
call toll-free at 1-800-480-3625.
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Chesterfield
Fire & EMS