JEMS fund options reviewed

After an initial meeting with a financial consultant, a few early ideas have emerged to help increase income to help bring Jay County Emergency Medical Service back into the black.

County council members, commissioner Faron Parr and JEMS management sat down with financial consultant Greg Guerrettaz Monday afternoon to discuss ways to increase income for the department, which for the last two years has been spending more than it collects through taxes and services.

Commissioner Faron Parr said one area that JEMS could make headway on is its billing, since the department is behind on getting bills out to patients.

To remedy the problem, county auditor Nancy Culy is lending a part-timer from her office to assist JEMS with billing until they are caught up.

A second area being discussed is an increase in, or addition of, fees.

One fee that will likely be implemented is mileage-based fees that will be charged for road covered once an ambulance picks up a patient.

"We need to do that," Parr said.

JEMS may look into creating separate rates for in-county versus out-of-county transports, with a lower rate for mileage accrued for residents going to Jay County Hospital.

The details, however, are still in early planning stages and no new fee system has been approved.

After the meeting during the afternoon commissioners' session, the commissioners discussed other options regarding revenue, late fees and finance charges with JEMS director Teresa Foster-Geesaman and claims coordinator Marla Grady.

"A little bit adds up and it might help to get the cash in quicker," Parr said of a monthly finance charge.

Many patients pay their monthly bill over a long period of time. But the commissioners suggested that with a finance charge patients who have the capability to pay off the bill early would be more likely to pay off their bill quickly.

Foster-Geesaman and Grady were both cool to that suggestion, saying they wouldn't want to punish patients who can't afford more than the monthly payment, since they often try their best to pay what they can.

The commissioners also asked about further increasing fees for medications and other consumables used in the ambulance. The problem is that Medicare and Medicaid only pay a set amount for certain items or procedures.

"They're only going to pay a certain amount for that code," Grady said.

"If we charge more we'll have to write off more," Foster-Geesaman agreed.

JEMS will provide more information to Guerrettaz, who will review the county's ordinances and other regulations and come back with proposals on how best to implement the changes.

Although additional fees are likely for patients in the future, Parr said that for a long time the county has remained conservative and attempted to keep prices low. He said the service can't support itself any more at these rates.

"Our prices are probably the lowest of anywhere around," he said.

In 2009, approximately 55 percent of JEMS revenue was from property taxes, with the other 45 percent from charges to patients.

In other business Monday, the commissioners:

•Signed paperwork for a Geographic Information System grant from Jay Emergency Management Agency director Ralph Frazee. The grant is worth $14,894.[[In-content Ad]]