TITLE
Recommendation to authorize City Manager to execute an agreement and all related documents with Zoll Data Systems, to purchase ambulance billing and collection software and implementation services, in an amount not to exceed $166,000, including tax and a 20 percent contingency. (Citywide)
DISCUSSION
The City's Fire Department provides Advanced Life Support (ALS) services to the community in emergency situations. The Department of Financial Management performs billing and collections services related to ALS service for the Fire Department.
During 2006, the Financial Strategic Plan identified the Ambulance Billing program as an area to be reviewed to ensure that the collection rate was consistent with the industry standard for municipalities of similar size and demographics. While the collection rate proved to be competitive, the recommendations and conclusions from the review identified many limitations of the existing billing computer system which, if addressed, could increase revenues. The current system does not meet the modern billing requirements for the program, nor does it provide effective management reports. The existing billing and collection system is an IBM mainframe in-house program developed over 30 years ago.
The last significant major enhancement occurred in 1988. The billing and collection system processes over $9.5 million a year in billings, with the cost of maintaining this antiquated system being considerable.
The objective is to replace the current billing and collection system with an updated system that would adequately manage the complexity and quantity of workload demands that meet the primary organizational goals in paramedic/ambulance billing, accounts receivables and collections.
The Request for Proposal (RFP) was downloaded from the City website by 31 companies. Of these, six are Minority-owned Business Enterprises (MBEs), two are Women-owned Business Enterprises (WBEs), and two are certified small businesses. No Long Bea...
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