County Outsources Ambulance Billing Services

Huntsville, TN (2011-03-21) The Scott County Commission agreed Monday night to tentatively outsource its billing services for the Scott County Ambulance Services to a private company. The move will not cost any local jobs.

By acclamation Monday night, the Commission entered into a tentative agreement with National Reimbursement Group, Inc. (NRG), a Macon, Georgia based company that contracts with several surrounding counties to provide medical billing for ambulances services. The contract is contingent upon final approval of the contract terms by County Mayor Jeff Tibbals, County Attorney John Beaty, and Ambulance Director Jim Reed.

The lease calls for an initial period of 24 months, with ten, one-year automatic renewals, and is subject to a 90-day termination clause from either party. The County would pay a 6-percent fee on all collections made by NRG, as well as a $1 charge for each patient care record entered into the system. Patients may also pay their bill by credit card, check by phone, or check online, a service which has not been previously available. “We do pass along the fees for that service to the County, which are an additional three percent,” said Shae Hinson, COO of NRG. Hinson stated that through NRG, counties have averaged between ten and fifteen percent increases in their cash collections. “According to my numbers, if we hit the 15 percent that could mean an increase of $255,000 in revenue,” said Tibbals.

Hinson also discussed the data center that NRG is planning on bringing to Scott County. The center, which would be used for data collection from Scott and surrounding counties, would be located in the Scott County Office Building. Currently, the Ambulance Department has three employees in its billing department; all three would be hired by NRG to work in the center. “We have seen 15% growth over the first quarter of this year. If that continues, we should be looking to hire more people in the future,” Hinson remarked.

While the company will worked feverishly to collect current debt, it will not collect current and future past due accounts, a concern shared by a few members of the Commission. “How long of a period (of time) does it take before you to turn over a bill for bad debt collection?” asked Commissioner Paul C. Strunk. Hinson stated that after a series of calls and letters, usually encompassing ninety days, the company would turn the account over to the county, which could hire another third party company for bad debt collection. “You can opt out of that, however. We don’t like that to happen, but that’s the nature of our business,” Hinson said. In previous years, the Ambulance Service has employed a third party collection agency, but has seen extremely limited results. “In 2009, they collected about $720,” Reed said.

By a voice vote, the Commission agreed to enter into the contract, pending the final approval from Reed, Beaty, and Tibbals.