Emergency transport third party billing

Palm Beach County, Florida is issuing RFP 26-001/DJ for comprehensive emergency transport third-party billing services through its Procurement Department on behalf of the Fire Rescue Department. The County seeks a qualified vendor to manage third-party billing operations for approximately 84,000 patient transports annually, with gross billings of $69 million and current collections of $36 million. The successful contractor must demonstrate expertise in insurance, Medicare, and Medicaid billing, with experience billing 70,000+ accounts annually as a strict qualification threshold. Key deliverables include managing billing for BLS, ALS1, and ALS2 transports at current 2026 rates ($730 for BLS/ALS1, $890 for ALS2, and $15 per mile), processing claims in accordance with Federal Law and Regulations governing the Ambulance Fee Schedule, and maintaining service levels across twenty area hospitals. The pricing structure consists of a percentage of monthly gross collections excluding Medicaid billings plus an annual flat fee for Medicaid services, evaluated against estimated gross collections of $20.6 million. The contractor must provide a Performance Bond or Letter of Credit of $500,000 prior to contract commencement and comply with HIPAA requirements while maintaining professional liability insurance of $1,000,000 per occurrence. Evaluation criteria are weighted as follows: Experience/Qualifications (35%), Project Approach/Understanding (30%), Key Personnel and Operations (20%), Price Proposal (10%), and Business Location/Local Preference (5%). Proposals must be submitted by May 27, 2026 at 4:00 p.m. in one unbound original, six bound copies, and one electronic PDF copy, with the Selection Committee meeting on June 16, 2026, and a Notice of Intent to Award posted on June 25, 2026.

The RFP has issued Amendment No. 1 on May 7, 2026, providing clarification and responses to questions submitted by potential bidders including Net Gain Marketing, Inc. and EMS Management & Consultants. A waiver of Affirmative Procurement Initiatives requirements has been granted, and the County has indicated that all proposers must register in the Vendor Self Service system, with subcontractors also requiring registration and appropriate documentation. The incumbent vendor is Digitech Computer, LLC, which has been paid $1.489 million in FY2025, with the current contract expiring September 30, 2026. The County's FY2025 operations processed 83,480 billable transports consisting of 72,781 ALS1 transports (87%), 1,896 ALS2 transports (2%), and 8,803 BLS transports (11%), generating total cash collections of $39 million with a payer mix of Medicare 55%, Commercial 32%, Self-Pay 8%, and Medicaid 5%. The selected contractor must integrate with existing infrastructure including Wells Fargo Bank as the lockbox provider for collections and credit card processing, and MetroPCR as the current electronic patient care record provider. The three-year contract will commence October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2029, with two optional one-year renewals, and anticipated award value is approximately $20.6 million in gross collections, though the specific contract award amount will depend on the percentage-based fee structure and estimated collections provided in individual proposals.