West Windsor Council May 3 approved a contract with DM Medical Billing LLC of Berlin, to bill for the township’s Emergency Medical Services.
The contract, retroactive to March 1, will be in place until March 1, 2011. According to the resolution, proposals were received from three companies that specialize in providing third-party billing services for EMS programs. DM Medical Billing was not the lowest bidder.
Before voting, Councilwoman Diane Ciccone questioned why the contract was not awarded to Ambulance Reimbursement Systems, of Pennsylvania, a company that would have billed the township a 6.5 percent rate. DM Medical’s rate is 7 percent. A third proposal from Cornerstone Adminisystems, of Pennsylvania, would have charged a rate of 8 percent.
Township Attorney Michael Herbert said that other factors came into consideration that allowed them to award the bid to a company other than the highest bidder.
Councilwoman Linda Geevers pointed out that DM Medical included training, or “dispatch interface,” in its bid, while the lower bidder did not.
Council President George Borek echoed the sentiment, saying it “seems to me they went one step beyond what the other providers tried to give us.”
Also prior to the vote, Councilman Charles Morgan pointed out that the contract did not include language that explains the requirement that the township disclose information to the insurance providers about the township’s planned practice to bill non-residents of the township and their insurance companies, but waive charges to township residents in the event a resident does not have insurance or would have had to pay a co-pay.
Council members added the language to the contract and voted 4-0, with Ciccone abstaining, to approve the contract, pending DM Medical Billing’s acquiescence of the change.
The contract was awarded a month after the council approved an ordinance allowing for the billing of EMS services. The ordinance permits the township to bill third-party insurances for ambulance services that are provided from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Township residents will not be charged directly for service. Township officials estimate that the new law can generate some $200,000 in revenues annually.
