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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 12092014 - FPD D.4RECOMMENDATION(S): A. OPEN the public hearing on Ordinance No. 2014-19, receive testimony, and CLOSE the public hearing. B. ADOPT the attached ordinance, Ordinance No. 2014-19, which authorizes the District to charge emergency medical first-responder fees to recover its actual costs for providing emergency medical first-responder services, as set forth in the ordinance. C. Authorize the Fire Chief to apply for and obtain a National Provider Identifier (NPI) number through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). D. Direct the Fire Chief to issue a request for proposals (RFP) for providing medical billing and invoicing services to the Fire District. FISCAL IMPACT: The ordinance allows the Fire District to recover the costs of responding to, and providing services for, emergency medical incidents. While future cost recovery amounts are unknown, the Fire District is not currently reimbursed for emergency medical incidents. Therefore, this ordinance will have a positive impact on revenue generation. APPROVE OTHER RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE Action of Board On: 12/09/2014 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER Clerks Notes:See Addendum VOTE OF SUPERVISORS AYE:John Gioia, Director Candace Andersen, Director Mary N. Piepho, Director Karen Mitchoff, Director Federal D. Glover, Director Contact: Lewis Broschard, 941-2501 I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown. ATTESTED: December 9, 2014 David Twa, County Administrator and Clerk of the Board of Supervisors By: June McHuen, Deputy cc: D.4 To:Contra Costa County Fire Protection District Board of Directors From:Jeff Carman, Chief, Contra Costa County Fire Protection District Date:December 9, 2014 Contra Costa County Subject:Cost Recovery for Emergency Medical First Responder Services BACKGROUND: The Contra Costa County Fire Protection District ("Fire District") strives to provide timely and efficient first responder emergency medical services (EMS) to residents and businesses located within the Fire District, and to persons that visit, do business in, or travel through the Fire District's jurisdiction. The spectrum of EMS responses encompasses an emergency response to a single family home for a person suffering from a medical condition, a vehicle accident requiring patient extrication, a complex technical rescue of a person on a remote hillside, a mass casualty incident involving many patients needing immediate care, and more. The Fire District responds to approximately 35,000 EMS incidents each year. To successfully carry out our EMS mission, the Fire District must provide and maintain modern equipment, apparatus, and sufficiently trained and licensed personnel. These are necessary components for the protection of the public health, safety, and the welfare of Fire District residents, businesses, and visitors. The Fire District responds to a high volume of EMS incidents which cause a significant impact on the finances and operations of the Fire District. The Fire District finances its emergency, rescue, and fire response services with general purpose revenues. The Fire District's receives general purpose revenue from a portion of ad valorem property taxes. The Fire District has experienced reductions and significant fluctuations in funding along with increased costs and increased demands for services. The Fire District's general purpose revenues are inadequate to meet the costs of providing fire protection services, emergency medical and rescue services, and hazardous materials emergency response services. In order to continue to provide a high level of service throughout the Fire District's service area, the Fire District intends to recover its costs of providing EMS responses as authorized by the California Health & Safety Code. The Fire District has reasonably calculated its costs for providing emergency medical services. These costs include the Fire District's actual personnel, equipment, and apparatus costs, as well as the cost of supplies, administration, and emergency medical dispatch. Each charge under this ordinance will be calculated based on, and will not exceed, the Fire District's actual costs of providing emergency response services. Exhibit A to the ordinance depicts how the Fire District calculated its costs for responding to an emergency medical incident. The fee for each emergency will be calculated based on the actual hourly and per-unit costs that the Fire District incurs to respond to the emergency. Revenue from these fees will be used to cover the Fire District's actual costs of responding to and providing emergency medical services. The ordinance contains a provision to establish policies and procedures for invoicing, billing, and receiving payments and to establish policies and procedures to discharge from accountability accounts that are not collectible. CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION: Without adoption of Ordinance 2014-19, the Fire District will not be able to recover the costs of responding to, and providing services for, emergency medical incidents. CLERK'S ADDENDUM Speaker:  Mr. Mehdi Baroumendi, resident of Contra Costa. CLOSED the public hearing; ADOPTED Ordinance No. 2014-19; AUTHORIZED the Fire Chief to apply for and obtain a National Provider Identifier (NPI) number through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS); DIRECTED the Fire Chief to issue a request for proposals (RFP) for providing medical billing and invoicing services to the Fire District; and DIRECTED the Fire Chief to provide the Board with quarterly reports on the progress toward and implementation of a billing policy.  ATTACHMENTS CCCFPD Ord 2014-19 Ord 2014-19 Exhibit A Cost Per Incident Apparatus Costs Type I Engine, Quint, or Squad 106.00$ Personnel Costs Firefighter/Paramedic 73.31$ Engineer 74.60$ Fire Captain 83.25$ Administrative Costs Emergency Medical Dispatch 56.84$ Administrative Rate*10% First-Responder Fee 433.40$ Exhibit A First-Responder Fee Calculation *Administrative rate based on State of California Office of Emergency Services approved administrative rate for local government reimbursement for emergency incident response.