Alert picked as twp. EMS biller

BRICK - Alert Ambulance Service, the provider that has aided the township's volunteer emergency medical service (EMS) for several years, was recently hired as the township's medical emergency billing service, although Alert has never provided this type of service before.

"If we do not award this contract, we will not get our Medicare and Medicaid service provider number and that takes four weeks," said Councilman Stephen C. Acropolis at the July 25 Township Council meeting. "We're not able to bill until we have that number. We'll get the bid awarded, see how their performance is and put it out [to bid] again next year."

The township was expected $412,00 of revenue through the billing of insurance companies after implementing a township-run EMS squad earlier this year, said acting Business Administrator Scott Pezarras.

The council discussed rejecting the bids, but the town wants to recoup the money from insurance companies since the paid service was implemented in May, Acropolis said.

Although Alert has no experience with municipal billing, they have been billing insurance companies privately for over a decade.

"Complaints of aggressive billing practices, you can count them on one hand," Acropolis said.

The Township Council awarded two, one-year contracts to the Lakewood-based Alert that will allow the company to earn 6.5 percent of the amount billed to insurance companies. Residents without insurance will not be billed, officials said.

- Colleen Lutolf