Ambulance billing concerns

DAYTON - The Central Lyon County Fire District Board will meet Wednesday to examine ways to lessen their losses from unpaid ambulance service fees.

The Central Lyon County Fire District meets at the Sutro Station, 231 Corral Drive, Dayton, beginning at 7 p.m. For information call 246-6209.

The district lost $252,123 in uncollected ambulance fees in fiscal 1998-99. District Chief Bill Driscoll said about 40 percent of all bills generated from ambulance service calls go uncollected.

The district's billing is done through a four-district billing cooperative. All invoices are generated by the Carson City Emergency Medical Services Division, under the supervision of EMS Chief Vince Pirozzi. According to Pirozzi, central Lyon County is getting far less reimbursement for Medicare patients - about 15 percent - than Carson City, which collects 85 percent. Efforts to find an answer as to why there is such a difference have been unsuccessful.

District officials are also looking for ways to more successfully collect from non-Medicare patients who make no attempt at reimbursement.

Pirozzi and a representative from Ambulance Insurance Services will make presentations at the meeting.

Among other issues scheduled for discussion are possible approval of a bid for to buy an engine for Station 33 in central Dayton.