Ambulance Companies In Houston

Townships to vote on ambulance company

Washington Hose would have their ambulance at the Houston Center building at the hospital from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., the hours during which 71 percent of West Brandywine's calls occur. Outside of those hours, the vehicle would be in Coatesville yet available for calls if it were to be the closest ambulance to a call, according to the company's representative David Faust. Chairman for the Board of Supervisors of West Caln, Paul Pfitzenmeyer said prior to the meeting that some interested companies would not be in the best interest of the township due to some companies proposing to place an ambulance at either Brandywine Hospital or the West Brandywine Township facilities, which he claims would not serve all of West Caln in a timely manner. Township Manager Ronald Rambo said that contracts were sent to the three companies earlier this week. An initial contract will be effective until 2012, and when it expires, there is an option for renewal of the contract. The contract asks that a separate set of books be kept by the selected company in order to demonstrate that the township does not provide funds for them. The Westwood ambulance company proposes to offer services to both townships by relocating one of its ambulances to the Wagontown Fire Company in West Caln, which would take a maximum travel time of about 10 minutes to some of the furthest reaches of each township. Westwood would hire an additional ambulance crew of eight emergency personnel to staff Wagontown and would purchase a third ambulance. Washington Hose would have their ambulance at the Houston Center building at the hospital from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., the hours during which 71 percent of West Brandywine's calls occur. Outside of those hours, the vehicle would be in Coatesville yet available for calls if it were to be the closest ambulance to a call, according to the company's representative David Faust. Chairman for the Board of Supervisors of West Caln, Paul Pfitzenmeyer said prior to the meeting that some interested companies would not be in the best interest of the township due to some companies proposing to place an ambulance at either Brandywine Hospital or the West Brandywine Township facilities, which he claims would not serve all of West Caln in a timely manner.

Medicare Audits Biting Houston Area Ambulance Companies Where ...

My take on this is that this is not retaliation – it is a natural outgrowth of the get tough on fraud and abuse campaign that has been going on with regards to Medicare and Medicaid since at least 2003 and probably much earlier than that.  It is going to get much worse before it gets better and unless you understand as an ambulance service owner that the dialysis patients are fraught with a huge amount of downside risk at the moment, I predict you will go out of business because of a Medicare audit.

And $360,000 is nowhere near the most I have heard about with regards to a recoupment from an ambulance company.  Not by half.

Full disclosure – I have spoken with Mr. Strickland in the past, roughly around the time of the original report.  But my phone hasn’t rung since then.

RANDY WALLACE Investigative Reporter

HOUSTON – No one would argue Houston became a hot bed for Medicare fraud involving private ambulance companies and dialysis patients.

Unscrupulous ambulance companies were billing millions to Medicare to transport patients who could easily make the trip in a car.

== Fraudsters Hurting Legitimate Businesses ==

“My liver is damaged,” Chris Mozingo said.

You can see for yourself: The only way Mozingo can get to dialysis treatment is in the back of an ambulance.

“I know there’s people that would literally die without this service,” Mozingo said.

Arrington Strickland, owner of United EMS, contacted FOX 26 Investigates in the fall of 2010.

He wanted the public to know how Medicare’s crackdown on fraud was causing lengthy payment delays for him and other legitimate ambulance companies.

“They’re looking at ways not to pay and that’s the consistent issue with Medicare,” Strickland said.

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