City of Oak Creek

Common Council Report

Meeting Date:  December 5, 2006

Item No.:        

Recommendation:  That the Common Council adopt Ordinance No. 2435 to repeal and recreate Chapter 3.40(c)(14) pertaining to ambulance service rates to begin charging for Advanced Life Support (ALS) services and rates, and to adjust the Basic Life Support (BLS) services rates.

Background:  As of January 1, 2007 Milwaukee County will no longer bill patients for paramedic services provided by fire departments operating under the contract for paramedic service within Milwaukee County, thus making each municipality responsible for billing for services rendered.  Emergency paramedic service within Milwaukee County is coordinated by Milwaukee County and is intended to be uniform throughout all areas of the County and for all persons requiring this level of service.  A sub-committee of the Milwaukee County Association of Fire Chiefs studied the billing rates used by Milwaukee County and comparable rates charged by other providers in Wisconsin and find the proposed fee schedule to be reasonable and consistent with present policy.

Residents within Milwaukee County provide financial support for a uniform, high-quality paramedic service through County and local property taxes, whereas non-residents do not directly provide similar financial support thus creating a resident and non-resident fee structure.  Operating costs are incurred by host communities of the paramedic unit for paramedic assessment and/or treatment of patients who are not subsequently transported therefore creating a fee for patients not transported.

The proposed rates for BLS services have been recommended by our billing firm, CPR, and are also in line with what other communities charge for their ambulance service and in particular our neighboring community, the City of Franklin.  There are two changes to note, one being the differences in the resident and non-resident rates and the other being a fee for medical treatment without conveyance.  As stated above for the ALS rate structure, residents within Milwaukee County and the City of Oak Creek in particular provide financial support through property taxes, whereas non-residents do not directly provide similar financial support thus creating a separate rate structure.  Also, as stated above, operating costs are incurred by the department for medical treatment without conveyance.

The rates being proposed are an attempt to increase our recovery from insurance payments and not to adversely affect Medicare-eligible patients’ out-of-pocket costs.  Our policy has been and will continue to be to accept assignment from Medicare-eligible patients and write off the balance due after supplemental insurance billing has been processed.

Fiscal Impact:  If approved, it is anticipated the rate change will generate additional revenue to the City.

Prepared by: Brian M. Satula Fire Chief	Respectfully submitted, Patrick DeGrave City Administrator
Fiscal Review by: Beverly A. Buretta, CMC City Clerk