The city has a collection agency that buys houses that don't pay taxes ... why not investigate either a lien on the property, or as Kevin said, pursuing collections through an outside company.
There are 'fees' for collection and yes the insurance companies do not always pay.....the diagnosis for the trip must be properly CODED......and they may bill for each item used on the ambulance....ie: needles/drugs/tubing/gauze/peroxide/AED pads etc.......these things must be replaced....now not every ride in an ambulance requires the use of a whole lot of stuff,,,,,but a set fee is not feasible to the insurance companies either as they will feel ripped off if there is a 'not so sick' person vs. a very sick person.....do they fight over it and who is responsible....esp. at car accidents.....who's insurance pays???? how long does it take to find out and pay out????
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
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I wish someone from REMS was on the board, they could answer these questions. If they don't collect from the insurance, they do bill, some people will pay some won't. If they don't they probably don't have the money and even a collection agency won't get it from them. I would think, and I'm just thinking out loud that they could send it to a collection agency but if you do that often enough it probably won't play well within the community. I know I have heard complaints from people in Duanesburg about receiving a bill from DVAC. Someone should get in touch with REMS and have these questions answered, I'm sure they would welcome the opportunity.
I am torn on this. I say I would prefer our own ambulance service. But IF it is just run like any other business, than I guess it should be privatized.....I think.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
On the issue of using another agency or business to collect upaid charges, it can be a bit problematic. Most collection agencies buy up the bad debt for a % of the actual value, then go after the debtor for the full value, plus any "fees" they can tack on. It's a shady business at best, and deceitful and bordering on criminal at worst. Not sure I'd want an agency/organization such as REMS to be associated with such a practice. So, at best, they'd only get about 50% of what is owed. Otherwise, you're looking at hiring a lawyer, essentially on retainer/full time, to go after bad debt through the courts. As it's been years since I've seen a bill for an ambulence (last one I ever saw was for $100), I'm not sure what the cost-benefit ratio would be in either case. My guess is that someone crunched the numbers, and found it would actually cost more to pursue the bad debt than to just right it off. Now, this would all be dependent upon total fees lost to bad debt, and how much it would cost to collect said bad debt.
The Gazette reported today that the REMS will service the Princetown area for November and December. Princetown will pay them $6,000 for the service. The REMS is currently in negotiations with Princetown that would start New Years Day.
The Gazette went on to say:
Quoted Text
Rotterdam faces problems also. The ambulance company has been on the brink of insolvency, largely from a lack of town contributions. The company resulted from a 2003 merger between the White Eagle and Rotterdam volunteer companies that was done under the assumption that Rotterdam would eventually fund the service through either an annual town contribution or a taxing district. The financial troubles came to a head when more than $250,000 worth of federal tax liens on the company surfaced this year. VanDerwerker later indicated that the company was having difficulty maintaining its payroll from week to week. VanDerwerker said the unforeseen funding from Princetown will help pay a quarterly insurance bill that came in this week. He said the company is on surer footing now but still has a long way to go before becoming financially stable. Meanwhile, Rotterdam officials are awaiting the results of a $3,000 audit of REMS they commissioned in August to determine if it was in the town’s interest to fund the ambulance company. Supervisor Steve Tommasone said the audit was returned Thursday and will be reviewed by the Town Board next week. “Obviously, it will determine what the best course is for the town,” he said. Tommasone said he would also like to call a summit of Schenectady County’s western towns and emergency agencies sometime in the coming months. He said the collective group should hash out a system that ensures that there is adequate emergency coverage far into the future. “That’s ultimately what I’d like to do,” he said. “That area is growing, and we need to ensure we address the future services there.”
Emergency medical services in the western end of Schenectady county have been fighting for their lives for the last few years. The time for local government to get involved should have been back then. In Duanesburg it has been a crisis. Local government and Duanesburg Ambulance have worked VERY hard TOGETHER to save our corps. We are finally getting our head above water and it has been with the help of REMS. We are ALL thinking outside the box to provide service to the residents. I'm not so sure that at this late date there is much Rotterdam local government could bring to the table for ideas, we have had many meetings with REMS, Dept. of Health, County Emergency Management, DVAC, local fire depts. etc, etc. The ideas are already out there and being implemented. Funds would be about the only thing left that Rotterdam needs to stay afloat.
I'm not that well informed about our REMS. And I am also torn as to which would be better, for service and financial viability. Should it be our own emergency service or a private service (Mohawk)?
Again, I am not that well informed about our REMS or any other, but can it survive without tax dollars? If not, why? And are there enough personnel to support a service such as this?
I guess what I'm asking, is if Mohawk can do it, why can another EMS do it?
I won't speak for REMS but I know for DVAC it is all about volume. Since they are reorganizing after the last regime no one is sure how many calls they will truly make and how many are truly "billable" until they go through a year of honest reporting. It is safe to say, however, that DVAC does not make enough billable calls to sustain themselves without the aid of town support. Personally I would root for the home team every time and do every thing in my power to support my own ambulance service
ROTTERDAM Ambulance district on agenda Groundwork for new taxing district is under review BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter
Rotterdam officials Thursday took the first step toward establishing a long-awaited ambulance district in the town. Members of the Town Board will consider a resolution during their meeting next week to create a map, plan and report for establishing the district, which would eventually subsidize the Rotterdam Emergency Medical Service. The move came during an agenda meeting attended by nearly a dozen emergency officials from around Rotterdam. “We have, I believe, exhausted the conversation on what we need to do for our community,” said Supervisor Steve Tommasone after introducing the resolution. The resolution would authorize the town to outline a special district encompassing all of Rotterdam and then create a system where each household would be assessed a special tax, much like a water or sewer district. The town would then conduct several public hearings on the issue in the coming months before putting the measure up for permissing referendum. The ambulance district could then be created if a majority of board members vote to support it. Residents could later overturn the board vote if a percentage of residents petitioned to send the decision to a town referendum. Under the ambulance district, residents would likely pay between 20 cents and 30 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value before exemptions are included. Initial estimates suggest the average home would pay...........................................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....amp;EntityId=Ar01401
I bet that is why Tommasone wasnt at the county legislature last night- he had this meeting.
"While Foreign Terrorists were plotting to murder and maim using homemade bombs in Boston, Democrap officials in Washington DC, Albany and here were busy watching ME and other law abiding American Citizens who are gun owners and taxpayers, in an effort to blame the nation's lack of security on US so that they could have a political scapegoat."
ROTTERDAM Official critical of ambulance plan Board ignores member’s plea to solicit bids BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter
While town officials consider an ambulance district to create a reliable funding source for the cashstrapped Rotterdam Emergency Medical Services Inc., one board member is warning this approach could create out-of-control costs in coming years. Councilman John Mertz is suggesting Town Board members solicit proposals for an emergency medical service contract so that they have something to compare with what is being offered by REMS. Mertz was the only board member to oppose a resolution last week authorizing a $4,000 study to lay out the boundaries of a future ambulance district. “This could completely blow up,” he said this week of the costs associated with an ambulance district. “This could be the worst mistake the Town Board has made since I’ve been on it.” But Supervisor Steve Tommasone and Joe VanDerwerker, the chairman of REMS’ board of directors, disagreed. Tommasone said Mertz is presenting an argument that would impede the best path toward establishing a unified ambulance service that will benefit the community. “Creating some kind of an RFP sounds great and makes it look like we’re doing the right thing,” he said Wednesday. “In reality what they’re really saying is they don’t really support an in-house system.” At issue is an ambulance district that would collect fees for REMS much in the same way the town’s sewer or water districts do. Residents would pay based on the assessed value of their property so that the ambulance company wouldn’t be solely reliant on patient billing for finances. If the district were established, the Town Board would likely appoint a commissioner or board of commissioners independent from REMS’ board of directors. This governing body would then oversee the ambulance company’s finances. Tommasone anticipates conducting the first public hearing on the proposed ambulance district in March, with the hope of establishing the district by 2010. In the meantime, he said the board may consider a stop-gap measure that will provide REMS with funding. TOWN COSTS The town already budgets roughly $470,000 in the general fund for a civilian paramedic service that operates out of the Rotterdam Police Department. Paramedics provide advanced life support and travel in sport utility vehicles dispatched from the police station; they are often the first to arrive on the scene of emergency calls, but are unable to take patients to area hospitals. REMS does the transport, billing insurance companies. Initial studies conducted by the town suggested merging the financially strapped REMS with the paramedics and then establishing a special assessment district to pay for both. The plan was ultimately scrapped this year, after REMS’ board of directors decided it would be better to concentrate on their financial situation. Mertz said he worries an ambulance district could be an additional cost to the paramedics that could grow out of control and end up saddling taxpayers with an unwieldy tax burden. He said the ambulance district would differ greatly from the assessments levied by the volunteer fire districts because REMS is staffed by paid workers. “That is a huge difference,” he said. Rather than establish a district, Mertz suggested the board fund the town’s ambulance service through the general fund. This way, he said the board could better monitor the company’s budgeting. “If they really believe REMS is the best way to go, then why not pay for it out of the budget?” he asked. “Once you create [the ambulance district], you can never take it back.” VanDerwerker insists the district would give full oversight to the town, just like with the other districts that fall within its budget. In addition to including a town-board appointed board or commissioner to oversee the company, he said the district could also have a provision that mandates audits by the Rotterdam comptroller. “It’s going to be under the microscope no matter what you do,” he said. VanDerwerker bristled at.....................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....amp;EntityId=Ar01101
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