No. No one will be denied emergency medical service or transport for any reason. The medical treatment that a patient receives will not be changed in any way by an EMS billing program.

Sometime after your hospital visit, your insurance carrier will be billed for the transport. When your insurance carrier or Medicare pays the transport charges, you will receive an “Explanation of Benefits” form to notify you that the charges have been paid. That will be the end of the transaction for residents in the Hamilton Township Fire District service area. In some cases, the third party billing service may not have the name of your insurer. In those cases, you may receive a letter asking you to provide this information. If you are a resident, you will NOT receive nor will you be expected to pay the bill yourself. Charges are assessed only if the patient is transported to a medical facility. If a patient receives medical attention, but is not transported, there is no charge for the service.

The cost of the transport would depend on the type of the service provided and the distance to the medical facility. For example, the charge for basic life support (BLS) transports will be less than the charge for advanced life support (ALS) transports. Our rates would be based on the reasonable and customary Medicare rates for our region and would be comparable to the rates of other departments in central Ohio.

No. If you are insured, you are already paying for this service. By state statute, EMS transport fees are included in your current premium. All private and government insurers already carry provisions to pay for EMS transport.

Hamilton Township’s billing service provider will be instructed to practice “soft billing”. Once the Township’s billing service receives verification that you are not covered by insurance or Medicare, the billing process stops for Hamilton Township Fire District residents. No bill will be sent and you will not be expected to pay the charges. Non-residents will be billed for any unpaid balance.

By statute, revenue raised by charging for EMS transports would be used for expenses associated with the “management, maintenance, and operation of the Township’s fire and EMS services” that are currently being paid by tax revenue in the Fire fund.

If you have a question about Hamilton Township’s proposed EMS billing program, contact the Hamilton Township Fire Chief at (513) 683-1622 Extension 100.

EMS Billing services are provided by Medicount Management.

1-800-962-1484