Agenda

Return

C. 88

To:	Contra Costa County Fire Protection District Board of Directors
From:	Lewis T. Broschard III, Chief, Contra Costa Fire Protection District
Date:	December 14, 2021

Contra

Costa

County

Subject:

Contract for Ground Emergency Medical Transport and Medicare Ground Ambulance Data Collection Reporting

APPROVE	OTHER
RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR	RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE

Action of Board On: 12/14/2021

APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED

OTHER

Clerks Notes:

VOTE OF SUPERVISORS

AYE:

John Gioia, District I Supervisor
Candace Andersen, District II Supervisor
Karen Mitchoff, District IV Supervisor
Federal D. Glover, District V Supervisor

ABSENT:

Diane Burgis, District III Supervisor

Contact:

Jackie Lorrekovich, Chief of Admin Services 925-941-3300

I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown.
ATTESTED: December 14, 2021
,

BY:	, Deputy

RECOMMENDATION(S):

APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Fire Chief, or designee, to execute a contract with Public Consulting Group, LLC, in an amount not to exceed $335,000, for the period January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2024, to provide data collection and cost reporting services related to the District’s participation in the Public Provider Ground Emergency Medical Transport Program and Medicare Ground Ambulance Data Collection Survey.

FISCAL IMPACT:

100% CCCFPD EMS Transport Fund. For PP-GEMT cost reporting, contractor will be compensated six percent (6%) of the federal share portion of payment received by the District. The contractor payment is capped at $100,000 per fiscal year cost report submitted. For MGADC data collection and reporting over a 12-month period, contractor will be compensated a flat fee of $35,000 following submission of the final report.

BACKGROUND:

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) allows states to establish alternative payment methodologies for certain classes of providers, including ambulance providers. The Contra Costa County Fire Protection District (“District”) is the exclusive emergency ambulance service provider in emergency response areas 1, 2, and 5 of Contra Costa County.

The District provides emergency medical transports to Medi-Cal patients, some of which may qualify the District for supplemental payments under the Public Provider Ground Emergency Medical Transport (“PP-GEMT”) program. Contractor possesses professional skills that can assist the District in data collection and cost reporting to secure supplemental payments under the PP-GEMT program. Contractor will also provide audit support for the cost reports completed by Contractor under this Contract in the event of an audit by the State, CMS, the Office of Inspector General (OIG), or other governmental or regulatory agency.Additionally, CMS is now requiring ground ambulance service providers to participate in the Medicare Ground Ambulance Data Collection (“MGADC”) Survey beginning in calendar year 2022. The Survey requires individual providers to submit data to CMS that relates to organizational characteristics, utilization, costs, and revenue. The data may be used by CMS to evaluate the adequacy of Medicare payment rates for ground ambulance services, to inform future Medicare rate changes, and possible payment system reforms. Contractor can assist District in data collection and survey reporting as required by CMS.

The Contract limits Contractor’s financial obligations related to any audit exceptions to the compensation paid to Contractor under the Contract.

CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:

If unapproved, The District may be unable to submit the GEMT cost report to receive revenue. Additionally, The District will have difficulty completing the Medicare survey, as it does not have sufficient in-house knowledge to complete the data collection required and related reports. If the Medicare survey is not completed, Medicare will pay a lower rate for transports.