Does your dept get reimbursed after a field pronouncement?

[Markhk]

This is a question I've been mulling over a while - and I've asked my supervisor and a bunch of others but the answers seems pretty inconsistent throughout the nation - so I'd thought I'd ask here.

If your department/agency pronounces in the field after a resuscitation attempt (i.e. no transport), do they attempt to seek reimbursement? Is insurance information collected and charged? Medicare? Or some alternative arrangement?

For example, after running a full arrest using multiple rounds of Epi, atropine, an EZ-IO, ET tube and capnography, the cost of the supplies used is not a trivial amount. But I don't recall anyone going out of their way to collect patient insurance information since we're not transporting, and I'm horrified to think the patient's family might get a bill for the resuscitation attempt that ultimately was not sucessful.

Thanks for anyones thoughts on this. I'm sorry if it sounds like an ignorent question!

 

[Aidey]

My company doesn't, and we're private for-profit.

 

[reaper]

Medicare does pay for working an arrest, even if pronounced in the field.

 

[boingo]

We bill for it, although I'm not sure of the particulars.

 

[redcrossemt]

We bill.

I get the usual demographics and let billing take care of the insurance information at a later point in time.

 

[Onceamedic]

We are a private transport company and we get paid even if the subject is stone cold. We print out asystole on 3 leads.
And guess what? It gets classified as a "stabilization". Heck, makes sense to me... can't get anymore stable than dead.

 

[cruzJD]

My department bills insurance but will not bill the PT / family for DOA. If we transport to the morgue or hospital then they will bill the family for transportation only if insurance dose not pay.

Our protocol states an officer must witness a 3 lead and vitals for all DOA.

 

[wyoskibum]

My old service out West would bill for any attempted rescutation. My current service in CT requires that we transport any patients that we attempt any rescutation on.

 

[JCampbell]

I don't see a problem with billing a deceased Pt (ins, or family). I don't think it's any different than a stay in intensive care prior to death, just because you didn't live doesn't mean money and time wasn't spent on your care.

 

[MCGLYNN_EMTP]

We collect all billing info just as we would a living pt. and we have them sign a billing form just like we always do...whether or not medicaid / care pays for it IDK and do we bill the family if they dont..IDK but we do make some attempt to bill, I know that much

 

[Brandon O]

If your company doesn't charge unless it transports it may be a moot point.

 

[ceej]

If we obtain venous access and push at least one round of drugs we bill it.

Private for profit.

 

[exodus]

How can you bill?

You bring a car into a mechanic to get it fixed. They use their tools and supplies to try to fix it, but they can't. Do they still bill you?

 

[ceej]

You bring a car into a mechanic to get it fixed. They use their tools and supplies to try to fix it, but they can't. Do they still bill you?

Uh...yes? Am I missing the part of history when people stopped trying to make money?

I can see FD based EMS not billing for something like this, but I've never heard of a private service not billing after working a full code. Granted, they may never collect, but why should they be punished for not resuscitating someone?

If you didn't do anything or didn't use any supplies, there is obviously no reason to forward a bill. If you used $5,000 worth of drugs and equipment on someone in PEA and their death was no fault of your own, shouldn't their insurance company compensate your service for that?

 

[Dwindlin]

We soft bill everything, including DOA/field term. arrests.