Title
A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH LIFE FORCE MANAGEMENT, INC. FOR THE PROVISION OF BILLING, COLLECTION AND RELATED SERVICES.
Brief Description: This resolution allows the City of Hudson to renew the contract with our third-party vendor that specializes in ambulance billing to manage its patient billing accounts. The practice of using a third-party vendor has been in place in Hudson since ambulance user fees were first established in June of 2004.
Body
Legislative History
Ordinance No. 04-97 enacted Section 242.02 of the Administrative Code to establish a user fee for Emergency Medical Services and provide for the collection of user fees and for crediting thereof upon receipt; passed June 2, 2004.
Resolution 15-203 authorized the City Manager to enter into an agreement with Life Force Management; passed December 15, 2015.
Purpose & Explanation
From the onset of Hudson’s adoption of ambulance user fees, it was determined that the cost of performing this function in house was cost prohibitive based on the expertise needed in personnel, equipment, and software.
The City used Life Force Management when we first started billing for ambulance service. We switched to two different billing companies due to decreased fee percentages and assurances of better collection results. Our revenue decreased after leaving Life Force Management and despite aggressive participation from our office staff on attempting to gather insurance information and capturing signatures, we were unable to recover from our deficit.
The City ultimately came back to Life Force, and Council approved a 3-year contract (2016-2018) with 3 additional one-year terms (2019, 2020, 2021). Life Force is a well-established billing company that all of the local hospitals share patient data and billing information with. This information increases our chances of having valid billing addresses and insurance information. The previous billing companies had no local sharing agreements with any of our hospitals, which led to poor collection results.
Staff is recommending we continue the use of Life Force Management Inc. of Ravenna Ohio for ambulance billing, collection, and related services.
Exhibit A
Billing Service Agreement between Life Force Management Inc. and the City of Hudson.
Timing Considerations
This contract would run for three years (January 1, 2022 through December 31, 2024) and then would automatically renew each year for three more years, unless terminated by either party.
Legal Authority for Proposed Legislation
Pursuant to Charter Section 6.04, Contracts & Purchasing:
Competitively bid and advertised for two consecutive weeks; bid tab attached: [Yes/No/NA])
Joint or Cooperative Purchase Program
X Professional Services
Other [provide explanation]
Fiscal Impact
X Currently Budgeted (Account #, $)
Supplemental Appropriation Required (Account #, $)
Appropriation Not Required
Does this legislation require use of an emergency clause?
Yes [if so, explain why]
X No
Recommendation
Suggested Action
Staff recommends City Council authorize the City Manager to enter into an agreement with Life Force Management, Inc.
Submitted by,
Jane Howington, City Manager
Jerry Varnes, Fire/EMS Chief