RFP No. 6172-26S EMS Billing, Collection, and Posting Services

Charleston County, South Carolina is issuing Request for Proposals No. 6172-26S to procure comprehensive billing, collection, and posting services for the Charleston County Emergency Medical Services (CCEMS) Department. The County processes approximately 63,000 patient transports annually with gross charges of approximately $20 million per year and estimated Fiscal Year 2025 collections of $12.4 million. The selected contractor must provide full-service billing and collection operations, implement robust internal controls subject to annual independent auditor review, maintain adequate staffing with certified ambulance coders, and possess a minimum of ten years of business operations as the same entity. Required qualifications include maintaining comprehensive insurance coverage with Commercial General Liability of $1,000,000 combined single limit per occurrence and $2,000,000 general aggregate, Business Automobile Liability of $1,000,000, and Workers' Compensation at statutory limits. The contractor must comply with HIPAA, HITECH, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and South Carolina Debt Setoff program requirements, and submit pricing based on a percentage of collected billings, a flat service fee, or a fee schedule basis. The RFP includes optional bid components for management and recovery of supplemental payments under the South Carolina Ambulance Supplemental Payment Program (ASPP) and optional debt setoff program services with separate pricing required. Deliverables include extensive monthly reporting with collection statistics, accounts receivable aging, denial trend analysis, and reconciliation reports. The contractor must ensure software compatibility with the County's ESO electronic patient care record system and is prohibited from offshoring health care records or claim submissions. The deadline for written questions is May 13, 2026, at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time, with proposals due June 3, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time through the County's Procurement Portal; the County reserves the right to conduct oral presentations or interviews with qualified offerors.

There are no specific set-aside designations mentioned in the RFP materials provided. No incumbent vendor or current contractor is listed. The contract will be awarded to the responsible offeror whose proposal provides the best overall value as determined through the County's evaluation criteria. The initial contract term is one year with the County reserving the right to extend annually for a maximum total contract period of five years, commencing August 1, 2026. The contractor is responsible for all costs including bank fees and credit card processing fees. A Drug-free Workplace Certification is required for contracts valued at $50,000 or more. While specific award values are not explicitly stated in the summary materials, the estimated annual collected billings of $12.4 million provide a basis for understanding the potential contract value should pricing be structured as a percentage of collections.