Agenda Cover Memorandum

Transcription

1 Agenda Cover Memorandum Meeting Date: March 11, 2013 Meeting Type: COW (Committee of the Whole) City Council Budget Workshop Item Title: Action Requested: Resolution Authorizing the City of Park Ridge to enter into an Intergovernmental Agreement with the City of Des Plaines and the North Maine Fire Protection District for Mutual Aid Ambulance Billing and Approving the Intergovernmental Agreement with the City of Des Plaines and the North Maine Fire Protection District for Mutual Aid Ambulance Billing. Approval For discussion Feedback requested For your information Staff Contact: Michael A. Zywanski, Fire Chief Phone Number: Address: Background: Currently, when both of the Park Ridge Fire Department ambulances are committed to emergency calls and a neighboring ambulance from the Des Plaines Fire Department or the North Maine Fire Protection District is called mutual aid to treat and transport a Park Ridge resident from the City, the patient is charged the transporting ambulance s non-resident fee, and costs above those covered by insurance or Medicare are due and payable by the patient. In late 2011, Fire Department Staff began working with the Fire Department Staff of the City of Des Plaines and the North Maine Fire Protection District in an effort to create an agreement with the neighboring fire departments to address this issue when mutual aid ambulance service is needed. The rates established by the Council on April 18, 2011 are now the same rates established by the City of Des Plaines and the North Maine Fire Protection District. Further, Council directed Staff to pursue agreements with other jurisdictions to be able to charge each other s residents the resident rates during mutual aid situations. In order to implement such an agreement, the three entities requested an opinion from the Office of the Inspector General (OIG), Medicare s legal division, that such an agreement does not violate Federal Anti- Kickback Statutes or other laws. The three parties (Park Ridge, Des Plaines and North Maine) submitted the proposed agreement and a request for an opinion to the OIG on December 15, On November 29, 2012, the parties received a response from the OIG indicating that such an arrangement would not violate any laws, and authorized the parties to enter such agreement for the purposes of billing each other s residents during mutual aid ambulance situations. Now that the approval to enter the agreement has been given, the parties need to execute the agreement and resolutions. The frequency of Park Ridge residents being transported to the hospital by a Des Plaines or North Maine fire department ambulance is quite low. In 2012, Park Ridge residents received mutual aid ambulance assistance a total of nineteen times (19) from these fire departments and Park Ridge Fire Department ambulances responded to Des Plaines and North Maine twenty-six (26) times. The execution of this agreement will result in a positive cost savings to Park Ridge residents. Rev 03/01/2013

2 Agenda Cover Memorandum Recommendation: Approve the Resolution Authorizing the City of Park Ridge to enter into an Intergovernmental Agreement with the City of Des Plaines and the North Maine Fire Protection District for Mutual Aid Ambulance Billing and Approve the Intergovernmental Agreement with the City of Des Plaines and the North Maine Fire Protection District for Mutual Aid Ambulance Billing. Budget Implications: Does Action Require an Expenditure of Funds: Yes No If Yes, Total Cost: If Yes, is this a Budgeted Item: Yes No Requires Budget Transfer If Budgeted, Budget Code (Fund, Dept, Object) Attachments: Resolution Authorizing Approval of the Intergovernmental Agreement with the City of Des Plaines and the North Maine Fire Protection District for Mutual Aid Ambulance Billing Intergovernmental Agreement with the City of Des Plaines and the North Maine Fire Protection District for Mutual Aid Ambulance Billing Rev 03/01/2013

3 CITY OF PARK RIDGE RESOLUTION - - A RESOLUTION APPROVING AN INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT WITH THE CITY OF DES PLAINES AND THE NORTH MAINE FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT FOR THE PROVISION OF MUTUAL AID WHEREAS, the City of Park Ridge ("City") is an Illinois home rule municipal corporation; and WHEREAS, Article VII, Section 10 of the 1970 Constitution of the State of Illinois authorizes units of local government to contract or otherwise associate among themselves "to obtain or share services and to exercise, combine, or transfer any power or function, in any manner not prohibited by law or ordinance," as well as to use their revenues, credit and other resources for intergovernmental activities; and WHEREAS, the Illinois Intergovernmental Cooperation Act, 5 ILCS 220/1 et seq., also authorizes the joint use and enjoyment of the powers, privileges, functions and authority of units of local governments; and WHEREAS, the City, the City of Des Plaines and the North Maine Fire Protection District (each a "Unit" and collectively, the "Units") each provide emergency medical services and ambulance transport services ("Services") within their respective territorial boundaries; and WHEREAS, when the Services are needed in one Unit's territorial boundaries, and that Unit does not have an ambulance available, the other Units provide the Services within the first Unit's territorial boundaries ("Mutual Aid"); and WHEREAS, each Unit charges a lower rate for providing the Services to persons who reside within that Unit's territorial boundaries ("Residents") than the rate charged for providing the Services to persons who reside outside of that Unit's territorial boundaries ("Nonresidents"); and WHEREAS, all of the Units charge the same rates to Residents ("Resident Rates") and the same rates to Nonresidents ("Nonresident Rates") for the Services; and WHEREAS, each Unit bills its Residents for the Services only to the extent of each Resident's insurance coverage, excluding co-pays, deductibles, and other out-of-pocket expenses ("Insurance-Only Billing"), but bills Nonresidents for the Services to the extent of the full amount due, including co-pays, deductibles, and other out-of-pocket expenses ("Full Billing"); and _1

4 WHEREAS, when one Unit provides Mutual Aid to the Resident of another Unit, the Unit providing Mutual Aid currently bills the Resident of the other Unit at Nonresident Rates and using Full Billing; and WHEREAS, the Units desire to enter into an intergovernmental agreement governing Mutual Aid pursuant to which each Unit will bill Residents of the other Units who receive Mutual Aid at the lower Resident Rate and using Insurance-Only Billing ("Agreement"); and WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Park Ridge has determined that it is in the best interest of the City and its Residents to enter into the Agreement; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Park Ridge, Cook County, Illinois, in the exercise of its home rule powers, as follows: SECTION 1: RECITALS. The foregoing recitals are incorporated into, and made a part of, this Resolution as findings of the City Council. SECTION 2: APPROVAL OF AGREEMENT. The City Council hereby approves the Agreement in substantially the form attached to this Resolution as Exhibit A, and in a final form to be approved by the City Attorney ("Final Agreement"). SECTION 3: AUTHORIZATION TO EXECUTE THE AGREEMENT. The City Council hereby authorizes and directs the City Manager and the City Clerk to execute and seal, on behalf of the City, the Final Agreement. SECTION 4: This Resolution shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage and approval according to law. Adopted by the City Council of the City of Park Ridge, Illinois this day of, A.D., Vote: Ayes: Nays: Absent: Approved by me this day of, A.D., 2013 David F. Schmidt, Mayor Attest: Betty W. Henneman, City Clerk _1

5 EXHIBIT A AGREEMENT _1

6 MUTUAL AID AGREEMENT EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICE (EMS) BILLING BETWEEN THE CITY OF DES PLAINES, THE CITY OF PARK RIDGE, AND THE NORTH MAINE FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT THIS MUTUAL AID AGREEMENT ( Agreement ) made thisj4til day of je ebruary 2013, by and between the City of Des Plaines, the City of Park Ridge, and the North Maine Fire Protection District, each located in the State of Illinois. WHEREAS, the City of Des Plaines, the City of Park Ridge, and the North Maine Fire Protection District, are all geographically close to each other, and WHEREAS, the City of Des Plaines, the City of Park Ridge, and the North Maine Fire Protection District each transport from one of the other areas when the ambulance Unit or crew from one of the other areas is unavailable, and WHEREAS, the City of Des Plaines, the City of Park Ridge, and the North Maine Fire Protection District when rendering mutual aid under this agreement have agreed to apply the same pricing structures for emergency ambulance services, NOW, THEREFORE, the parties wish to have a mutual aid agreement as set forth below: 1. Mutual Aid It is the purpose of this Agreement that, if the ambulance from one of the Parties is unavailable, the ambulance service from one of the other Parties may assist and provide emergency ambulance transportation. 2. Rates Currently, each Party has agreed to the pricing structure as follows: Emergency ambulance service Resident Non-Resident Response charge $ $ (treat/non-transport) Basic Life Support (BLS)-Emergency $ $ Advanced Life Support (ALS) I Transport $ $ Advanced Life Support (AL.S) 2 Transport $ $1, Mileage Charge $15.00/Mile $1 5.00/Mile 3. Definition of a Resident A resident is a patient who maintains a primary residence with a mailing address in one of the areas serviced by the City of Des Plalnes, the City of Park Ridge, or the North Maine Fire Protection District. 4. Billing When an ambulance owned and operated by one of the Parties noted above responds to one of the other Parties jurisdictions and transports a resident of that 1

7 5. Insurance Only Billing It is the policy of each Party to: (a) Bill its own residents only to the extent of their insurance/medicare coverage in (b) To bill non-residents for co-insurance, deductible and non-covered services. 6. Counterparts This IN WITNESS WHEREOF, each of the Parties has executed this Agreement as of the day NOR I H MAINE FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT:, Sharon McLaughlin, District Presideny 2 / f Shawn Hamilton, City Manager CITY OF PARK RIDGE: Michael Barth om v, City Manager Peter M. Friedman, General Counsel CITY OF DES PLAIN : Approved as to form: and year first written above. be deemed an original, and such counterparts shall together constitute and be one and the same instrument. Agreement may be executed in counterparts, each of which shall When an ambulance owned and operated by one of the Parties noted above bills not covered by insuranceimedicare. recognition that resident taxes cover the normal copayrnent amounts above insurancelmedicare coverage; and responds to one of the other Parties jurisdictions and transports a resident of that other Party, the Party that transports the patient agrees to waive any portions of other Party, it is agreed that the Party that transports the patient vill bill the Other Party s resident at the Resident rates set forth in this agreement.