102 Minutes

102 Minutes

102 Minutes By Ed Marasco, MPM, CMTE, EMT-P (ret.)* On a clear, sunny, late summer Tuesday in September of 2001, the world we knew at that time changed in ways that we could never have anticipated. Nineteen individuals associated with the Islamic extremist group al Qaeda hijacked four commercial airliners and carried out suicide attacks […]

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Transported For Higher Level Of Care

Transported for HIGHER Level of Care

Transported for HIGHER Level of Care By Katie Harrison and Chuck Humphrey, QMC Compliance Team If we had a dollar… Here in our QMC billing office, if we had a dollar for every time we have opened a patient care report (PCR) to read the documentation of an ambulance transport from one facility to another […]

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Policy Making & Sausage - The Balance Billing Saga Continues in 2021: Part 3

Policy Making & Sausage: Part 3

Policy Making & Sausage The Balance Billing Saga Continues in 2021: Part 3 By Ed R. Marasco, MPM, CMTE, EMT-P (Ret.)* As you may recall, the No Surprises Act (NSA) was passed earlier this year and serves as a broader (beyond just medical transport) effort to address surprise and balance billing across the healthcare landscape. […]

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Policy Making & Sausage - The Balance Billing Saga Continues in 2021: Part 2

Policy Making & Sausage: Part 2

Policy Making & Sausage The Balance Billing Saga Continues in 2021: Part 2 By Ed R. Marasco, MPM, CMTE, EMT-P (Ret.)* There is an old saying: “The two things you never want to know about how they are made… public policy and sausage.” The ingredients and process can be very alarming. This is the second […]

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Policy Making & Sausage - The Balance Billing Saga Continues in 2021: Part 1

Policy Making & Sausage

Policy Making & Sausage The Balance Billing Saga Continues in 2021: Part 1 By Ed R. Marasco, MPM, CMTE, EMT-P (Ret.)* There is an old saying: “The two things you never want to know about how they are made… public policy and sausage.” The ingredients and process can be very alarming. On the other hand, […]

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Musings of a Public Health Emergency- So Far

Musings of a Public Health Emergency- So Far

Musings of a Public Health Emergency- So Far By Chuck Humphrey, B.A., EMT-B, CAC, CADS* Rear-View Mirror Like me, I’m sure that you have taken some time to reflect on what you have learned over the last 15 months since COVID-19 crashed its way into all of our lives. Those of us who serve in […]

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EMS Week 2021

Because of YOU!

Because of YOU! By Chuck Humphrey, B.A., EMT-B, CAC, CADS* “To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson Two Years in a Row For two years in a row, EMS Week in the United States is attracting a spotlight, unlike any single […]

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Dissecting The Certificate Of Medical Necessity

Dissecting the Certificate of Medical Necessity

Dissecting the Certificate of Medical Necessity By Chuck Humphrey, B.A., EMT-B, CAC, CADS* The Non-Emergency Transport World If you live in the non-emergency ambulance transport world, then the words “medical necessity form” or the letters “PCS” are most familiar to you. A certificate of medical necessity is required to bill a claim to Medicare for […]

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