Posted: 8/17/04
City to contract for ambulance billing
by Jane Palen
Managing Editor
Billing for calls made by the Caledonia Ambulance Service will now be handled through the Winona Ambulance Service.
At the city council meeting of August 9, council members discussed a proposal from the Winona service and agreed that if the part-time director of the ambulance service, Robert Augedahl, has no objections, the city will enter into a two-year contract with Winona.
The billing has been handled by the ambulance service co-director, Mary Bubbers, who resigned the position on June 30. The position paid $840 per month. Bubbers currently works for $12 per hour on an as-needed basis doing the billing.
Under the terms of the agreement, the city will be charged $7.50 for each government health program claim (e.g., Medicare); $22 for other claims and $5 per call to enter information into the MNStar program, which is mandatory in the state. The city will also be required to purchase a billing module for a one-time charge of $800.
The council estimates that it will save $3,600 per year by contracting for the billing services.
In another matter related to the ambulance, the council approved a write-off of $24,052 for the ambulance service for 2003.
The unpaid charges consist primarily of uncollectable Medicare billings. By law, the ambulance service must accept the Medicare assignment for the service offered. The patient is responsible for only 20 percent of the portion of the charge Medicare deems acceptable. A privately-insured patient is responsible for the entire amount of the call, regardless of what his insurance pays.
For example, if an ambulance call to a Medicare client costs $500 and Medicare decides it will accept a charge of $300, the patient is responsible for 20 percent of that amount, $60, and Medicare pays $240, leaving a balance of $200 that cannot be collected.
The city continues to look for ways to offset the losses of the ambulance service. Solutions might include pursuing grants and/or requesting increased support from
the townships.
City will furnish supplies for Eagle Scout project
The council approved a request from Lucas Nelson of Caledonia to furnish building materials for benches he will build and will donate to the citas part of an Eagle Scout project. Two 12-ft. benches will be placed outside the fence at the swimming pool so that parents and others can watch the children swimming, and two 6-ft. benches will be placed in the wading pool area.
The council approved up to $375 for the materials needed for the benches.
The benches will be completed by the end of September.
LGA to be distributed as intended
In other news, the council learned that Governor Tim Pawlenty has greed to distribute Local Government Aid according to legislative intent. A technical error had been made in the 2003 tax bill, changing the distribution from what the legislature intended. Had the bill been implemented as written, small cities stood to lose thousands of dollars in aid.
As it now stands, the city will receive $693,221 in aid. However, city clerk administrator Robert Nelson reminded the council that the city was set to receive $742,099 in LGA last year, but the state withheld its final payment of $82,445 for a net total of $659,654.
Public hearing for garage
The council held a public hearing to consider a variance requested by Jeff and Traci Heaney to build a 1,560 sq. ft. garage onto their new home at 123 South Winnebago. City ordinances limit the garage size to 1,200 sq. ft.
The council approved the application based on the fact that the construction meets all setback requirement and that the garage will not appear larger than the main structure.
The council denied an application for a setback variance from ABLE for a storage shed at 334 South Sunnyside. In its decision, the council said that there were no extraordinary circumstances which made meeting the setback requirements difficult.
Caledonia Argus
314 West Lincoln St.
P.O. Box 227
Caledonia, MN 55921-0227
507/724-3475
E-Mail: editor.argus@ecm-inc.com