2008-2009 AMBULANCE SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION
Subscription is open to residents, visitors, and employees in the Potter, Gregg, Penn, Miles, and Haines Townships and Centre Hall and Millheim Boroughs. Our current charges for a Basic Life Support (BLS) emergency call averages $650 per trip. Penns Valley EMS uses a Third Party Billing Company to bill health or automotive insurance companies.
Third Party billing is a program that provides reimbursement for
ambulance services. The reimbursement is based on services rendered to patients before the patient reaches the hospital. Penns Valley EMS submits claims to your insurer if you need to use our ambulance service. You should subscribe even if you have Medicare or other insurances, because your insurance may not cover the entire bill. In that case, you are responsible for the balance if you are not a subscriber. Whether or not your insurer pays the entire amount, if you are a subscriber, YOU ARE NOT CHARGED ANYTHING FURTHER.
Your subscription covers the BLS charges on emergency (911) transports only. Non-emergency transports are not covered. Advanced Life Support (ALS) charges, if needed, are not covered. ALS is provided by Mt. Nittany Medical Center or Centre Lifelink EMS.
Checks sent to you, the subscriber that are for payment for ambulance services received prior to August 1, 2008 should be endorsed on the back and mailed immediately to:
Evangelical Community Hospital
Attention: Billing Office
One Hospital Drive
Lewisburg, PA 17837
For ambulance services received on or after August 1, 2008, please
forward all payments to:
Penns Valley Emergency Medical Service
P.O. Box 90
Danville, PA 17821
You also now have the ability to make payments on line at http://www.emsbillpay.com This site will allow you to provide insurance information, make a payment, or be contacted to set up a payment plan.
While the majority of our revenue comes from Third Party billing, the money received from subscriptions is our next largest source of income. This enables us to purchase new equipment and maintain our ambulance vehicles much more effectively. The subscription provides the residents an opportunity to assist us in equipping our three ambulances with the finest equipment available and maintaining our new headquarters.
Many changes have occurred in the health care industry in recent years that have directly impacted the ambulance service that we have been providing. Penns Valley EMS provides emergency pre-hospital care and ambulance transportation of patients to hospital emergency care units for residents and visitors to our community. At the present time Penns Valley EMS does not own or operate a wheelchair or stretcher van for transport of non-emergency ambulatory (capable of walking or transport by wheelchair or stretcher van) patients. This type of transport is NOT included in your membership. Examples: Direct admission from home to hospital, transportation home from hospital, from hospital to rehab facility, or visits to doctor's office. However, non-emergency transport services that are deemed “Medically Necessary” by a physician are provided based on availability of staff and equipment. Subscribers are responsible for payment of any and all charges for non-emergency services rendered by the ambulance service that are later determined to be a non-covered service or are denied by the subscriber's insurance carrier for any reason. These charges are not covered by your subscription.
Penns Valley EMS, like other volunteer organizations, has been
struggling to find people to volunteer their time. Therefore as of September 1, 2004, we have added paid staff to better serve the community. The ambulance is staffed by a paid crew from 6:30 AM until 6:30 PM. We still rely on volunteers to staff the ambulance when a second ambulance is needed during the daytime and for overnight. This expenditure has placed a great burden on our budget, but was needed to provide the community with the service that is expected from us.
Types of subscriptions include Household and Individual. A Household membership costs $45.00 and includes the head of household, spouse, co-inhabitants of a single residence and dependent persons living at the residence. An Individual membership costs $30.00 and covers a person living in a single residence.
*This program is not an insurance product and this is not an offer for
the sale of an insurance policy. This offer is not applicable to Medical Assistance recipients. Subscription is not a contract for the provision of emergency or non-emergency services at any specific time, and all services are subject to availability. Services may be provided by a mutual aid service during period in which Penns Valley EMS may be unavailable, and Penns Valley EMS assumes no responsibility for the charges of such substitute providers, including Advanced Life Support services. Terms of PennsValleyEMS membership program may be subject to changes without prior notice.