WEMS To Staff Armonk FD Ambulance

[x635 4,066]

From the Westchester EMS Facebook page:

Beginning Monday, Sept. 15th, Westchester EMS will be starting a new partnership with the North Castle Fire District #2, Armonk Fire Department. We will be providing the department with 1 EMT Mon - Fri days to help them provide EMS service to the community. We have been providing this service to the Somers Fire District since 2010. We are excited about this new venture and look forward to working alongside the Armonk FD members.

[somebuffyguy 190]

One EMT ? So what does he do, sit and wait for another EMT to show up ?

[Flashpoint 94]

Given Armonk is a relatively slow system, how experienced are WEMS EMT's as opposed to EMT's of Transcare and Empress? How was WEMS picked for this, and how does Armonk compensate them?

Does Armonk have a say in which WEMS EMT's will be assigned there?

[somebuffyguy 190]

I would imagine WEMS was picked being that they already cover all of Northeast Westchester including Armonk with the 45 Medics. Why have one company provide a Medic and another an EMT ?

Edited September 15, 2014 by somebuffyguy

[prucha25 76]

I would imagine WEMS was picked being that they already cover all of Northeast Westchester including Armonk with the 34 Medics. Why have one company provide a Medic and another an EMT ?

WEMS supplies the 45 medics, the 34 Medics are Empress in Yorktown.

Also when I worked with WEMS which was admittedly over 5 years ago they had mutual aid contracts with a few surrounding towns in north eastern westchester.

[JM15 386]

I would imagine WEMS was picked being that they already cover all of Northeast Westchester including Armonk with the 34 Medics. Why have one company provide a Medic and another an EMT ?

WEMS provides the 45 medics which cover Armonk. The 34 Medics are run by Empress and cover the Town of Yorktown

[sympathomedic 383]

In Hawthorne, Empress EMT's staff the ambulance, and Transcare provides the medic. So if you see an Empress EMT driving a Transcare flycar, now you know why!

[GAW6 66]

Since Armonk is a Fire District, I would think that they would have sent out an RFP.

[velcroMedic1987 330]

More bandaids...

[WAS967 97]

Actually, they don't have to carry band-aids. It's not part 800.

[velcroMedic1987 330]

Actually, they don't have to carry band-aids. It's not part 800.

Completely missing the point.

[Medibart 55]

Armonk FD reliably has drivers, so the EMT will not be waiting for other personnel. The fire district chose WEMS due to the existing relationship with the medics. An RFP for 2015 will be forthcoming, the current contract is short term. This is a step in the right direction for providing consistent EMS to the district residents.

[spike2231 38]

the fire dept ambulances still canot bill ,only soft bill how are the district residents going to pay for this service other than though increases in taxes why not sit up an abulance district like the town of mamaroneck did for the 2 villages and the unicorparated area and have north castle as one big district and everyone gets the same service for their money , north white plains as well as banksville area in the town of north castle just a thought

[Bnechis 3,961]

the fire dept ambulances still canot bill ,only soft bill how are the district residents going to pay for this service other than though increases in taxes why not sit up an abulance district like the town of mamaroneck did for the 2 villages and the unicorparated area and have north castle as one big district and everyone gets the same service for their money , north white plains as well as banksville area in the town of north castle just a thought

Any billing "soft" or "Hard" is illegal in a fire district based EMS in NYS.

"Soft" billing, while commonly done, particularly by many VAC's is illegal under Medicare/Medicaid rules

[WAS967 97]

Completely missing the point.

I actually got your point. I was being a smart ass. Note the winkey.

Any billing "soft" or "Hard" is illegal in a fire district based EMS in NYS.

Wasn't there legislation in the works in Albany to fix that?

Edited September 13, 2014 by WAS967

[Bnechis 3,961]

Wasn't there legislation in the works in Albany to fix that?

I don't think so. Its federal law

[spin_the_wheel 460]

There is legislation in Albany to try and change this. Not sure where its at though.

http://www.fasny.com/pdfs/2014Scorecard.pdf

[sympathomedic 383]

The legislation was intruduced by SENATOR Pataki. Older folks here may recall he was Governor Pataki AFTER he was a Senator, but that was 4 governors back. So I would urgently ask that you not hold your breath waiting for that change to come through.

A Fire District can push to form an Ambulance district. The Town has to do the actual forming. That would involve admitting you can't fix it yourself and also the possibility of giving up a portion of your domain (providing EMS). Therefore I don't think you will see it often. I did read about one NY FD that did do that, though. Not sure who or where. NYS has an awful lot of special districts- sewer, water, fire, EMS, streetlighting, lake, business improvement, sanitation, school... There may be little willingness to make yet another one, even though in this case it makes sense.

[Bnechis 3,961]

There is legislation in Albany to try and change this. Not sure where its at though.

http://www.fasny.com/pdfs/2014Scorecard.pdf

The legislation was intruduced by SENATOR Pataki. Older folks here may recall he was Governor Pataki AFTER he was a Senator, but that was 4 governors back. So I would urgently ask that you not hold your breath waiting for that change to come through.

This has been a legislative "priority" for at least 25 years.

It has been proposed in EVERY legislative session over this time and Speaker Silver has never let it out of committee, and as long as it does not make it to the floor it will never be voted on.

Also every year I have heard people making a big deal of..."Here is the legislation we need".....but clearly most are not aware that this has been going on

[amr6334 16]

Wow and who says government act quickly. Lol

[Dinosaur 844]

Wow and who says government act quickly. Lol

Government acts quickly when it suits them. Look at the so-called "SAFE ACT". Passed in under a month.

The government doesn't treat this as a priority because we continue to fight with each other rather than fighting for the issues.

[AFS1970 504]

Government acts quickly when it suits them. Look at the so-called "SAFE ACT". Passed in under a month.

And then the technical errors were fixed with budget riders. Perhaps Government should not act so quickly anymore!

[Bnechis 3,961]

And then the technical errors were fixed with budget riders. Perhaps Government should not act so quickly anymore!

And a court ruling that parts were unconstitutional

[RushTheBus 10]

Any billing "soft" or "Hard" is illegal in a fire district based EMS in NYS.

"Soft" billing, while commonly done, particularly by many VAC's is illegal under Medicare/Medicaid rules

Barry, could you please provide a reference for this statement? I'm having trouble finding it. Thanks.

[16fire5 693]

This has been a legislative "priority" for at least 25 years.

It has been proposed in EVERY legislative session over this time and Speaker Silver has never let it out of committee, and as long as it does not make it to the floor it will never be voted on.

Also every year I have heard people making a big deal of..."Here is the legislation we need".....but clearly most are not aware that this has been going on

I have never understood this. To the best of my knowledge NY is the only state in that prohibits fire departments from billing for EMS. I never will understand it. There are plenty examples where ems was broken off the fire department because of billing. I understand it's on FASNY's agenda but I would think the association of fire districts should make it their sole purpose to get it done. The only reason Silver is able to suppress it is no one talks or hears about it. If it was in the news being pushed by all the stakeholders (I even think we could get volunteers and career to agree on this one) it might be force into a vote. If every time a state level politician bumped into their local fire chief or commissioner it was mentioned how this handicaps fire departments/districts and plenty of local articles by fire districts complaining how an antiquated law is financially stressing the district it would have a shot. With the tax cap pressures this should be even more important to us these days.

[Bnechis 3,961]

Barry, could you please provide a reference for this statement? I'm having trouble finding it. Thanks.

I will try to look for it. It is in federal law tied to CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services). I had a copy of it a number of years ago.

[Bnechis 3,961]

I have never understood this. To the best of my knowledge NY is the only state in that prohibits fire departments from billing for EMS. I never will understand it. There are plenty examples where ems was broken off the fire department because of billing. I understand it's on FASNY's agenda but I would think the association of fire districts should make it their sole purpose to get it done. The only reason Silver is able to suppress it is no one talks or hears about it. If it was in the news being pushed by all the stakeholders (I even think we could get volunteers and career to agree on this one) it might be force into a vote. If every time a state level politician bumped into their local fire chief or commissioner it was mentioned how this handicaps fire departments/districts and plenty of local articles by fire districts complaining how an antiquated law is financially stressing the district it would have a shot. With the tax cap pressures this should be even more important to us these days.

I agree. The problem is it only affects Fire Districts that run an ambulance and want to bill. So the number drop way down.

Every year it is on the legislative agenda for FASNY, NYSFCA, NYSPFFA & the Fire Districts Association (NYSFDA). The problem I am told is that the legislature tells most lobbying groups (and that includes these) "what are your top 3?"

Then most part ways. (NYSPFF - Pensions, disability, etc.) (FASNY - No training mandates, blue lights, benefits, etc.) and so on.

Silver can suppress it because the only people who vote for him live in lower Manhattan and its no issue to them. But it is an issue to a number of his contributors, who do not want competition for FD's.

[RushTheBus 10]

I will try to look for it. It is in federal law tied to CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services). I had a copy of it a number of years ago.

Thanks Barry, or maybe you could be a bit more specific about your definitions for "hard" and "soft" billing?

[velcroMedic1987 330]

Thanks Barry, or maybe you could be a bit more specific about your definitions for "hard" and "soft" billing?

Typically "hard" billing employs multiple attempts to collect from the applicable insurance company and patient directly and turning the account over to a collection agency if it goes unpaid.

"Soft" billing is when the local agency sends the bill to the insurance company and accepts what they pay without follow-up or collection.

[Medibart 55]

You must make a "good faith" effort to collect from all patients, including co-pays. A "good faith" effort does not have to include sending patients to collections, but it does include sending bills directly to the patient. "Soft billing", as described, is against Medicare, and most private insurance, regulations.

An exception to this is that municipal ambulance services, that operate with tax dollars, can soft bill, if tax monies collected are specifically stated to offset lost billing revenue for residents only. If a municipality contracts with an ambulance service, that can be written into the contract as long as tax monies are used to pay for the contract. Again, this only applies to residents, not non-residents.