Other Methods of Transportation are Contraindicated Medical Necessity Defined We talk a lot about Medical Necessity in the ambulance billing office. Medical necessity and Reasonableness are key in determining whether or not an insurance payer is obligated to pay for ambulance transport, especially for Medicare and Medicaid patients. Title XVIII of the Social Security Act […]
Medicare for All? Feel the Burn After two weeks of the major party political conventions, we can truthfully say we “feel the burn!” Hold on…we’re not taking political sides. Note that it’s “burn” and not “Bern” that we feel, as in “burn out.” Our presidential campaigns in the United States are far too long. After […]
Properly Executing the Medicare ABN-Part I Misunderstood One of the most misunderstood puzzle pieces of ambulance billing is the Medicare Advance Beneficiary Notice of Noncoverage (ABN). As we work together with our contracted EMS agency clients, we find that EMS administrators and providers alike are very confused about the when and how to use this […]
Billing for Ambulance Scenarios Involving Death Solemn Subject This week we address a rather solemn subject. While none of us care to admit it, there are times when our best life-saving efforts are unable to change the course of events and our patients succumb due to medical emergencies and/or trauma scenarios. It’s sad for both […]
L.A.T.T.D. = Billing Success Often asked… Our billing office is often asked the question by EMS agency administrators; “What do we need to do to collect the most dollars?” Simple question, not-so-easy answer. However, you can put forth a plan that we refer to as L.A.T.T.D. and you’ll find that your ambulance billing program and […]
Patients are Changing—What’s the Effect? In all 50 States… We stumbled across these startling statistics this week. In all 50 States of this United States of America the following numbers apply: 50%- All 50 States now have an obesity rate higher than one-half of the population 48%- Percentage of persons in all States living with […]
When Other Healthcare Disciplines Don’t Know Ambulance “I worked in healthcare.” One recent caller to our billing office started a conversation in this way when he called to question his ambulance bill. The patient called because he had received notice that we had billed Medicare on behalf of one of our EMS agency clients. The […]
Reimbursement Reality Check The Good Old Days! Remember back about ten years ago when we got those really nice Medicare increases each year? We remember! One year 5%, another year 3; it sure was nice and it helped us keep up with the rising costs of everything that makes our EMS agencies go. With Medicare […]
Of “Ambulance Drivers” and “Emergencies” All of the times… Can you count all of the times that you have been labeled an “ambulance driver”? Nearly half a decade removed from the dawn of modern EMS, to our neighbors that’s what we are…ambulance drivers. Regardless of all of the hours you’ve spent training to attain your […]
Dissecting “The Misunderstoods”- Part II- Billing for SCT “The Misunderstoods” There are two level of service categories that we lump into a bucket called “The Misunderstoods” of ambulance billing. Two weeks ago we blogged about the Advanced Life Support, Level 2 (ALS2) level. Today, in Part II, we focus on the Specialty Care Transport or […]
