Bellefonte Emergency Medical Services charges for services provided as do most other EMS providers. Our annual budget revenue is funded 85% by fee-for-service reimbursement. While we do receive limited financial support from most of the 10 municipalities in our primary response area, it only constitutes to 10% of our overall budget.
In most instances, emergency ambulance responses are eligible for reimbursement through the patient’s health insurance policy or automobile insurance for motor vehicle collisions. Using information obtained during the ambulance incident, Bellefonte EMS will submit an invoice to your insurance carrier as a courtesy for you soon after the date of service. At times accurate information may not be available during your time of emergency. An information request form will be mailed to you to complete and return to the Ambulance Billing Office so that we may continue to help you by submitting the invoice to the correct insurance carrier for you. Most health insurance carriers will send the reimbursement payment directly to us and in many cases provide you with a statement of payment. Some insurance carriers will mail the payment check directly to you, the insured patient instead of Bellefonte EMS. Once you have received the insurance check you are responsible for forwarding that monies to Bellefonte EMS.
The rate of denial of payment by some insurance carriers, especially Medicare related, has significantly increased since 2013 resulting in the patient being personally responsible for the invoice. In most cases the stated reason for denial is ‘not medically necessary’ or ‘not a covered service’. While we agree that in some very rare cases, an emergency ambulance was not needed however in most instances this has not been the case. The exact reasons for the sudden increase in denial of payment by insurance companies are not known however following recent events in the news media related to the overhaul of the national healthcare system may provide some insight.
Most insurance carriers, including Medicare & Medicaid, do not provide coverage for non-emergency para-transit wheelchair van transports. These services are the financial responsibility of the patient and are considered an out-of-pocket expense.
Please carefully read information provided by your health insurance carrier concerning specific coverage, annual deductable and co-pay requirements particular to your insurance plan for additional details as each plan is different.
Bellefonte EMS is willing to work with all of our patients with the billing and payment process however it is important for you to contact us in a timely manner. Delinquent accounts are referred for collections when our invoices and requests for information have been ignored.
Refer to our Frequently Asked Questions page for additional information.