Moses Lake chooses local firm for ambulance billing

MOSES LAKE - A decision, on which ambulance billing service the city should use, didn't come easy for the Moses Lake City Council.

The council tabled the item last month and ran up against an immovable split decision in their regular Tuesday meeting before at last casting a 4-3 vote in favor of a Moses Lake company at the end of a special meeting Thursday.

The issue was first raised in a Dec. 22 council meeting, when city staff recommended outsourcing ambulance billing services rather than hiring a replacement for the current ambulance billing clerk, who is retiring at the end of the month.

Contracting the services would cost an estimated $60,000 to $70,000 a year, according to City Finance Director Ronald Cone, who told council it would save about $10,000 a year over a new internal hire. Outsourcing could also provide the city with more depth of staff and upgraded software not available with the current system, he said.

The city received proposals from three ambulance billing companies and staff recommended an agreement with EF Recovery, of Gig Harbor.

Council declined, opting to allow time for Moses Lake company Omni Staffing Services to resubmit a more complete proposal to the city. Omni was deemed to have been given insufficient information on what the city was looking for and staff was directed to gather more input on both companies.

On Tuesday staff came back with a renewed recommendation, to go with EF Recovery.

"We checked references and we made a comparison of the capabilities of the two companies," said Moses Lake Fire Chief Tom Taylor. "After that evaluation and the checks of the references, we maintain that we still prefer to do business with EF Recovery because we feel they will meet the city's needs."

Staff's decision was based primarily on the difference in billing software used by the two companies as well as experience, Taylor said.

Omni employs the same system now used by the city, but Taylor said it isn't as efficient as EF Recovery's billing software, which is interchangeable with an Electronic Patient Care Reporting System (PCR) that can save time by being accessed by paramedics in the field via an electronic tablet.

"If we went with Omni, they plan to use the same billing software we're using now, the same PCR we're using now and, to my understanding, the same employee currently employed with the city to do their ambulance billing," Taylor said. "It is not our desire to remain status quo, it is our desire to move forward and utilize new technology and greater efficiency."

But on Thursday Omni owner Corbin Moberg countered that, if Moses Lake should decide to switch to a software-based system, his company has the same capability of EF Recovery to meet the city's needs. He pointed out that, should the city make the switch, it would come with an increase of costs, whatever company was chosen for billing services.

Taylor cited depth of staff as another reason for choosing EF Recovery, noting Omni has two ambulance billing personnel while EF Recovery has 13. He added Omni didn't provide notes on the experience of their staff as requested by the city, while EF Recovery stated their top three billers have a combined experience of 50 years between them.

EF Recovery has been in business since 2005 and has been conducting ambulance billing for two years, but Taylor said the company has a "long-standing reputation working with fire departments" and extensive experience with ambulance billing, providing the city with several positive references.

Omni has been in business since 1998, but the company has provided ambulance billing services for just one jurisdiction - Stevens County.

Moberg explained the gaps in his proposal to the city were due to the fact he didn't receive the city's request for additional information until Jan. 3, giving him less than 24 hours to gather and submit something before a Jan. 4 deadline.

Taylor said the city mailed requests to both companies Dec. 27, although Omni's address was incorrectly listed in the phone book, which delayed their letter by five days.

Moberg went on to address a number of discrepancies between the proposal he submitted to the city and a memo to council from city staff, clarifying current costs would indeed be locked in for the entirety of a year contract, Omni is able to take on new types of billing and the company could offer similar software-based services as EF Recovery.

Council and staff entered into an extensive discussion that often cast the issue as a choice between supporting a local, capable company or upgrading the city's ambulance billing services with a more experienced firm.

Taylor and Cone said EF Recovery should be the clear choice, barring the "shop local" issue.

"That, to staff, we don't feel that that's an issue," Taylor said. "We feel that the greater, enhanced capability of the technology and greater efficiency should drive our decisions. We didn't make this decision lightly, we made this decision based on what we thought was best for the city."

"I hear from city staff that staying local is not an issue," Moberg responded. "Well for us businesses it is an issue. It pays for our  employees, it keeps our lights on and it keeps our properties occupied."

Councilwoman Karen Liebrecht made a motion Tuesday to award the contract to Omni, which was backed by Councilman David Curnel but failed when Councilman Jason Avila was the only other member to vote in favor.

Councilman Dick Deane then called for the authorization of an agreement with EF Recovery, a motion seconded by Lane. That motion too died when Councilman Brent Reese was the only other member to agree.

New Mayor Bill Ecret cast a no vote to both motions, saying he would like to see Omni have time to give the city more information.

"I don't consider this a level playing field," he said. "Until we receive the additional information from Omni I'm going to vote against this."

City Manager Joe Gavinski warned Wednesday if the council failed to reach an agreement on which company to go with the city would have no choice but to keep ambulance billing services in house.

"It's the default position," he said, explaining the city must maintain uninterrupted billing services and, in the absence of a contract, would immediately begin seeking a replacement for the current clerk.

Thursday's special meeting discussion centered mainly on technical differences between Omni and EF Recovery, with Cone and Taylor once again stressing EF Recovery as the more technically experienced ambulance billing service provider and Moberg highlighting his company's merits and local status.

Moberg was backed by several "buy local" boosters, including Grant County Economic Development Council President Ron Covey, Columbia Basin Herald Publisher Harlan Beagley and Debbie Doran-Martinez representing the Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce.

"People with jobs and income and spending money locally is going to drive tax revenue up so again I think it's paramount you consider doing business locally whenever possible," Doran-Martinez told council.

Others noted the contract is up for renewal in one year, at which time the city can renegotiate or decide to go with another company.

After more than an hour of analysis, council took another vote on the issue, with Reese moving to accept EF Recovery as the city's ambulance billing service. The motion failed, with only Lane and Ecret voting in favor.

Liebrecht then moved to make an agreement with Omni, a motion that was carried with Avila, Deane and Curnel voting in favor.