HomeMy WebLinkAboutPR 11661: FIRE DEPT BILLING SVSINTER
OFFICE
MEMO
To:
From:
Subject:
Date:
Mayor, City Council & City Manager
Mark T. Sokolow, City Attorney ~ ~.,/x~
P. R. No. 11661 - March 19, 2002 Council Meeting
March 14, 2002
Attached is Proposed Resolution 11661 authorizing the City Manager to execute an
agreement with National Reimbursement Services, Inc. to provide a billing service for the
Fire Depax~nent Emergency Response Costs. This was tabled at the March 5th Council
Meeting. The effective date of the contract has been changed to April 1st. I am also
attaching a letter from NRS clarifying their billing process.
MTS/ts
Attachment
cc: Fire Chief Curran
Director of Finance
Robert Sarlay
NATIONAL REIMBURSEMENT SERVICES, INC.
1240 Blalock Road, Suite 170
Houston, TX 77055
z.pr11661_3.memo
February 27, 2002
Stephen L. Curmn
Acting Fire Chief
Port Arthur Fire Department
300 W~co Stre~
Port Arthur, Tecas 77641
VIA FACS]~ilLE 409-953-11719
Dear Chief Curran;
Thank you four giving u~ the opFortunity to be of service to Port Arthur. I'd like to clarify
some operational and billing pro'z -~-'-'~es concerning First Response billing and Hazmat
billing.
1. No dtizen$ will be bill for these $ervices.
2, Medicare and Medicaid are not double baled. It's a$ainst the law to double bill
Medicar~ and Medicaid. [f an ~nbulance is used, the ambulance provider bills
Medicare and Mediceid. First Response will bill Medicare or Medicaid only if an
ambulance is not us~ and Ivindicare and Medic.~,id ~ not billed otherwir~.
3. First Response billing is rendem'ed primarily to the nuto IInbility enrrier for the nt
fault party. In single auto responses the ,_~,n liability carrier is billed.
4_ Othar applicable '.insurance carriers are billed ns the occ__-n_~on mandates, such $
property liability Insurance carriars.
5. Corpor~e liability carriers axed the ~elt'-insured eorporntions themselves a~e quick
to ~ to Hazmnt clean-up billing.
6. Some other political entities m Texas ttmt bill for First Response and [-l~mat a~:
a. City of Waco
b. Tntvis County (Austin, Texas)
c, Brownsville
d. San Antonio
e. Lnredo
f. Burkeville
1240 ~LALOCK RD SUITE 170, HOUSTON. TEXAS ~ (713) 4~E~200 (71 ~) 2~-3701 FAX
as w~l! ~ many othc~ municipalities and politic~l entities all over the USA.
ifI can provide any ~ information or answer any other questions please feel ~'~e to
contact me immediately. We arc IO01rln5 fin*ward to win-king with thc City
Administration to ma~rlmlze the legltima~e financial entitlements ~1 reimbursements duc
thecitize~ ofPo~Atthur
Cc: Mark T, Sokolow 409-983-$124
1240 ~.~.LOC:K RD SUffE 170. HOUSTON, TEXAS 77{~5 (71~) 48~.E2~0 ('~13) 2~6~3~0t FAX
P. R. No. 11661
03/14/02 - ts
RESOLUTION NO.
A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER
TO EXECUTE AN AGREEMENT WITH NATIONAL
REIMBURSEMENT SERVICES, INC. TO PROVIDE A
BILLING SERVICE FOR FIRE DEPARTMENT
EMERGENCY RESPONSE COSTS
WHEREAS, the City Council deems it in the best imerests of the citizens to authorize
the City Manager to execute an agreement with National Reimbursement Services, Inc. to
provide a billing service for the Fire Depat'tment Emergency Response costs.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF PORT ARTHUR:
Section 1. That the facts and opinions in the preamble are tree and correct.
Section 2. That the City Council authorizes the City Manager to execute an
agreement with National Reimbursement Services, Inc., to provide a billing service for the
Fire Department Emergency Response costs, in substantially the same form as attached as
Exhibit/~dk@.
Section 3. That a copy of the caption of this Resolution be spread upon the Minutes
of the City Council.
READ, ADOPTED AND APPROVED on this day of , A.D.,
2002, at a Regular Meeting of the City Council of the City of Port Arthur, Texas, by the
following vote:
AYES:
_;
NOES:
z.prl1661_3
ATTEST:
OSCAR ORTIZ, MAYOR
JAN STRODER, ACTING CITY SECRETARY
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
MARK T. SOKOLOW, CITY ATTORNEY
APPROVED FOR ADMINISTRATION:
STEVE FITZGIBBONS, CITY MANAGER
z.prl1661_3
EXHIBIT "A"
Service / Consulting Contract
For
Billing Service for Fire DepirtmeBt Emergency Rom ~osl~
This contract is made and entered by and between NATIONAL
ILE1MBURSEMEHT SERVICES l]qC, berein~er referred to as 'Contractor," ~i the
Ci~T of Port Arthur, Texas, hereinafter referred to as ~The Customer~ to be effective ns
dated below.
Whereas ~lationa] R~imbursement Service Thc ha~ described the services arid their
expeficr, ce as delineated in Exhibit "A-l" and
Wbereas the City of Port Arthur provides Fire Depa, t,.ent Enm-gency Response ~ervice
in the City of Port Arthur which includes but is uot limited to (1) first responder. (2)
HAZM. AT, O) f~¢ suppr~ion, and (4) ancill~y servlc~
For md in consideration of the covenants and agreen~ contained her~in, and
for their mutual benefits, the pn~ties agree ns follows:
TERM OF CONTRACT; TERMINATION; SCOPE OF WORK
(A)
The initial term of u'fis contract shall be a period of 12 months commencing
upon the effective date; provided, however, that the Customer shall have the
right and option to renew for 3 one (1) year terms under the same terms and
conditions {ay giving written notice to Contractor of Custom~s election to so
ex'~end the term hereof~ such notice to be given not more lhan ninety (90) nor
fewer than thirly (30) days prior to the expiration of the said initial tenn.
(B)
The pactie~ ~ agree that either ~ may cnncel and terminate this
contract, without c~tse, upon thirty (30) days written notice to the other
pa:W.
(C)
The Contractor ~mall provide for Fire Department Emergency Reponses
account managemem, rate adjudication for Medic,re and Medicaid, and
electronic claim filing for only Medicare and Medicaid and insurance
Comrac~r acknowledges and agrees that the provision of Fire Department
Emergency Response Se~ice by the Customer may or may not change over the term of
this agreement. The r~tem charged may change, the s~vice may change, and/or the service
may cease to be · Customer function. The parties agree that, if the service is stopped,
neither party will have any fm-,her obligation under this comract.
II. COMPENSATIOlq AlCD PROCEDURES.
Customer q~ees to pay Contractor 10% of actual monies collected by the
Contractor,
It is understood that Fire Department Emecgency Response payments, for a
number of valid causes, may be delayed for up ua one hundred fifty (150) days from date
of so'vice. In that instance, Contractor collections will be based upon co{lections received
as a result of billings during the contract period. This determination will extend for a
period of one hundred fitby (150) days aRer the end oftbe initial period and apply only Io
billings generated within the contract period.
Contr~_~or will actively invoice for all Fire Department Emergency Response
Accounts receivable on and after the contract commencement date.
Customer shall pay Contractor within thirty (30) days following receipi of
momes. Comtactoc shah pay aH costs of invoice preparation and mailing cost.
III. ACCOUNTS ARE PROPERTY OF CUSTOMER
All accounts receivable, including documentation of any kind furnished by the
Custonmer, shall at all tirne~ remain the property of the C'ustom~. In the event of
termination of this contract for any reason or expiration ~hercof~ account receivables and
all other documentation that is generated, supplied or pt~aared by or for the Customer,
~hall be ~-turned within five (5) days to the Customer.
IV. A~DDI rlOHAL DUTIES OF CONTRACTOR A.ND CUSTOMER
In addition to the duties provided in this Contract, the patties shall abide by the
following terms and conditions:
(A) REMrI'IANCE OF FEES
Contractor aBySS that aH fees collected or paid shall be directly remitted to the
City o£ Pon Arthur at 444 4" Steer, Pon Arthur, Texs~. All instructions for payment
issued by Conu'~-tor shall indicate that payment shall be made to that eifeem. In no event
shall Co.i~.ctor designate, imply or infer that payment should be made in any other
manner for collections trader this Conra'~.
(B) TELI~HONE SERVICE
Contractor aga'ees to have in operation within three O) days at~er thc execution of
this Contract, a toil-free phone number, which shall be without cost or cxgcnse to the
caller, which will be staffed during regular business horn's by an employee of Contractor
who will enter any question~ regarding the bills or ~ services provided by
Cofltr~or under this qrcement. The phone numbo' shall be published on all s~ttements
sent by Con~ctor in its efforts of collectiofl and billing under ~his agreement.
(C) CUSTOMER TO PROVIDE RECORDS
Customer agrees that it shall provide the Fire Depamnem Emergeocy Response
reports ~o Contractor to allow it ~o fulfill its duties under this Al~emeni. Courts, or shall
maintain the confidentiality of the records as is required by federal, state, and local laws.
V. TIME OF COMPLETION
Corm'actor asxees and covennnts that the Company wi]l act in good faith to
invoice within ten days of _roc_~pt of the Fire Depmmeflt l~nergency Rzsponse reports.
VI. PROTECTION AGAINST ACCIDENT TO EMPLOYEES AND THE PUBLIC
The Contractor shall at all times exercise reasonable precmztions for the safety of
employees and others on or near the work and shall comply with aH applicable provisions
of Federal, S~te and Municipal safety laws. ~ s~cty precautions actually taken and the
adequacy thereof shall be the sole responsibility of the Con~cxor.
VII. RECORDS
Contractor shall keep available for inspection and copying by Customer, records,
whether written or elect,,nically generated and store~ which su~ciently and adequately
~ nil bffis ~ coil~, ~ ~, ~ ~ rd~ve ~ ~s
Co~a-~. Them records ~hali be kept ~om the inception of the co-~ ~ct and for two years
foHowin~ termination or expiration ofthe ~
VIII. LAW AND ORDINANCES
The Contractor shah m aH times observe and comply with ail Federal. StYe, and
local laws, ordinances, regulations and polici~ of the Customer, which in any manner
affect the Contractor or the work, including those related to debt collection. Co,,hac~or
shall indemnify and save harmle~ the Customer agalns~ any claim refining from the
violation of any such laws, ordinances and regulation~ whether by the Coahactor or his
employs.
~ ~SIG~ ~ S~LEI-ItNG
1240
The Contracior ngrees to retain control and to give full attention to the fulfillment
of thist Contract, that this Contract vail not be assigned without the prior written consent
of ~he Customer, and that no part or f~r¢ of the work will be sublet to anyone
objectionable ~o the Fire Chief. The Contracto~ further ng~es that th~ sabletting of any
portion or feature of the work, or materials rgquired in the performa~c~ of this
Agreement, shall not r~ieve the Contracto~ from his full obligalions to the Customer as
provided by this Agreem6~t.
X. INDEPENDENT CON IKACTOR; INDEIvlNIFICATION
The Contractor is and shall be an Independent Contractor ~cl shall not, with
respect to its acts or omissions, be deemed an agent or employee of the Customer.
The Cont~Ior shall defa:od, indemnify sad hold harmless the Customer and its
officers, agents, and employees from and against all damnge~, injuries Cmduding de.h),
claims, prope~ dn_mngee (including loss of'use), losses, demands, suits, judgmenls and
costs, including reasonable attorney's fees end expense~, in any way arising out of or
resulting from the l~fonnance of the work or caused by the negligent act or omission of
the Contractor, his office's, agents, employees, suboz~tractors, licenses, or invitees.
INSURANCE AND CERTH:ICATES OF INSURANCE
Co,,i,~c~or shall procure and maintain for the duration of thc contract lisbility
insurance in the amount ors100,000.
XII. MISCELLANEOUS
(A) BINDING OF PARTIES
The undersigned represems and s~rgants d~t he or she is the duly amhofized
representative of the Co.,h actor and is amhorized to execute this contract, which has heen
approved and accepted by the Contractor.
This Agreemem shall no~ be considered fully executed or bi~ding on the
Customer until the t~me shall I~ve been executed by the Cu~om~ in the appropri~e
approval process for the Customer.
This Contract shall be binding upon the parties, and their succ~sors and assigns.
(B) PARAGRAPH HEADINGS
The paragraph b,'~dings contained herein are for convenience only and are
not iotended to define or limit the scope of any provisions in this Agreement.
170 Balboa, Ta (713} ~.g~
(C) I]WrERPRET CONTRACT FAIRLY
Regardless of who dratted the contract, should any part be in dispute, the
parties asree that the Agrecmcm shall not be construed more favorably for either
party.
(D) VENUE/GOVERNrNG LAW
In the evem of breach of this Contract, venue for all causes of action shall be
instittrted and maintained in Jefferson Couaty, Texas. The panics agree tha~ the
laws of the State of T~xas shall apply to the interpretation, validity and
6~lforcement oft[ds Asreemcnt.
(E) NOTICE
Excep~ as otherwise provided in this Contract, ali nolices required or permitted
shall be in writing and be deemed to be delivered when received at the address provided
below. Each party shall holily the other in writing upon change of address.
Customer Contractg;r
City of Por~ Arthur
Attenlion: Fire Chief
300 Wace Avenue
Pon Arthur, Texas 77641
1240 Blalock Road Suite 170
Houston, Texas 77055
713.-465-5200
(F) SEVERABILITY
The provisions of this Asreement are severable. If any paragraph, section,
subdivision, sentence, clause, or phrase of this Asreement is for any reason held to be
comrary to law or contra~ to any rule or regulation having the force and effect of the
law, s~ch decisions shall not affec~ the remaining potions of the Agreement. However,
upon the occmTenc¢ of such event, either party may terminate this Agreement by giving
the other pally thirty (30) days written notice,
(G) ENTIRE CONTRACT
It is understood and agr~d that the ¢~tire aBreement of the parties is contained
hereto and that this agreement supersedes all oral agreements and negotiations ~n
the parties relating to the subject matter hereof as well as any previous agreements
pi~ntly in ¢ffoct between thc p~des relating to the subject matter hareo£
This Agreement is effeetive on the 1'~ day of April 2002.
1240
ZO ~q~,d TOL~-gS;-flL ~O:ll ZOOZ/§Z/ZO
Sisnett on the day of .... 2002.
NATIONAL RKII~H~URSEIVIENT SI~RVIC[~$ INC
Date: Signature:
Primed Name:
Title:
Signed on the .d~y of
CITY OF FORT ARTI[UR
Date: Signature:
Printed Name:
T~le:
1210 ~ l~l, ~ile 170 ]ba~
TOkE-.qgZ-~ TZ
EXHIBIT "A- 1"
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MANAGEMENT
Robert Sarlay, Chief Executive Officer, Director
Mr. Sarlay attended the University of Dallas to pursue his MBA. He
was listed in Who's Who inAmerica in 1993 and has extensive
experience in a wide variety of industries and corporations including
multi-state operations. He has decades of medical management
experience in operations, billing and administration. His personal
compassion was evident in his success in the medical management
field, where he ran nursing home facilities in Dallas, Houston, and
across Texas. He served as President of Advanced Care Centers of America in Houston,
and helped it become a statewide operation with 13 long-term care facilities, 1000
employees, and annual revenue of $50 million. There he was also responsible for
computerizing the company's systems, and initiated quality assurance and employee
recognition programs that focused on employee training, empowerment, and
involvement. He has served as VP for Investor Relations with a major national legal
services company that is publicly traded, as operations VP for JTM Management-Dallas,
with $25 million-per-year in revenues. It was there that he revolutionized the company by
computerizing its complete management systems. He successfully ran a commercial real
estate venture in Houston with $27 million in annual revenue and for three years Mr.
Sarlay was President ora Tyler, Texas oil company, having been appointed by the United
States Trustee. He reinvigorated it to $100 million in annual revenue, enabling it to be
merged back in to the parent organization.
Scott Sarlay, Vice President Technology, Director
Scott holds a BS in Information Systems fi.om the University of
Texas - Arlington and has extensive experience in data,
programming, and systems work. His technology knowledge and
programming experience is an integral part of the success of our
automation of billing and collections. Scott developed and holds the
right to the unique SofiBillTM medical billing and collecting system,
which the company licenses and uses to its advantage over its
competitors. This is where the company gains its competitive advantage over other
bidders. Scott has converted major accounting systems to client/server systems on MS
SQL Server 7.0. His responsibilities included data conversion fi.om three different
accounting systems, development of custom interfaces to automate data entry into a
consolidated accounting systems, automation of weekly and monthly reporting via
corporate intranet and e-mail, user training and support. Scott created applications to
automate employee payroll data feeds from point of sale systems into the corporate
payroll system. The application was deployed using Visual Basic and Crystal Reports to
gather data and feed into MS SQL Server 6.5 database. He provided support for Windows
NT network, MS SQL Server 6.5/7.0, and MS Exchange Server. As a Systems Analyst,
and Systems Programmer he developed a "watchdog" application in Visual Basic
4.0/Access/Cyrstal Reports to monitor credit card theft by employees, and created a
corporate data repository for share sales, labor and inventory with Visual Basic/Crystal
Reports/MS SQL Server. These applications gathered data from point-of-sale systems,
consolidated the data at corporate level and provided sales and cost reporting via Excel or
corporate intranet. His application also provided budgeting and forecasting reports. He
developed IVR (Interactive Voice Response) system to capture and measure customer
experiences. The application used Visual Basic/MS SQL Server/IVR software to allow
customer to dial 800 number, listen to prerecorded questions and answer by pressing
numbers on a touch tone phone. He installed, configured and supported MS Exchange
Server 5.0 and MS IIS 4.0 at the corporate office. He also established MS Exchange
Server-supplied Interact mail capabilities to the corporate office and remote restaurant
shares or regional managers. His technology proficiency includes MS SQL 6.0, 6.5, 7.0,
Visual Basic 4.0, 5.0, 6.0, MS Exchange 5.5 Windows 95,98,NT, Crystal Reports 6.0,
7.0, MS Office, MS Access 97,2000.
Jonathan C. Gilchrist, ID, Director/General Counsel
Mr. Gilchrist and has served as a Director since our inception. Prior
to our incorporation, Mr. Gilchrist held various offices with iExalt,
Inc., (OTC BB: IXLT). ARer founding [Exalt, with four other
business leaders, Mr. Gilchrist served at different times as a Director,
Chief Operating Officer, Secretary, Executive Vice President and
General Counsel [Exalt. His employment with [Exalt ended on
December 31, 2000. In 1999 Mr. Gilchrist founded The Internet Business Factory, Inc., a
Nevada corporation and serves as its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Prior to
founding iExalt, Mr. Gilchrist served as President of The American Law Network, LLC,
which he helped found in November 1997. From 1993 to 1997, Mr. Gilchrist worked as
an attorney for the law firm of Orgain, Bell & Tucker, LLP. He is a graduate of the
University of Alabama School of Law and worked as an attorney for Exxon Company,
USA from 1990 to 1993.
James W. Carroll, CPA, CMA, Treasurer/Director
Jim holds a Bachelor's degree, summa cum laude, in
economics and management, as well as a Master's degree in
accounting from Rice University. He became a Certified
Public Accountant in 1978 and a Certified Management
Accountant in 1979. In the late1970's Jim served in Ernst &
Young in their management consulting division. Through the
1980's and early 1990's, he worked for the Cullen Family in
Houston, Texas (net assets exceeding $1 billion). For the last
seven years there, Jim was the Chief Financial Officer of their
principal company, Quintana Petroleum. While there, he
helped to start-up their operations in Argentina. Also, in the
early 1990's, Jim was an Adjunct Assistant Professor of
accounting in the graduate business school at Rice University, co-teaching a course in
Strategic Cost Management. In the mid and late 1990's, he started his own group ofoil
and gas entities, purchasing and drilling wells both domestically and on a 1000 square
mile concession he acquired in Central America. His holdings now include interests in
over 400 active wells. Recently he served as the Chief Financial Officer for iExalt, Inc.,
seeing them through their first year as a publicly traded company. Presently, Jim is the
President of Goldbridge Capital in Houston, which specializes in underwriting
Discretionary Drawdown Offerings for public companies.
Chuck Dunbar, Vice President of Marketing and Customer
Relations
Mr. Dunbar directed both the inside and outside sales staff at
National Law Library--a large subsidiary of a major publicly
traded Internet company. Prior to joining National Law Library
Chuck served with distinction in the US Navy during the
Vietnam conflict. He was responsible for building one of the
largest commercial landscape design and maintenance companies
in Texas. He holds a AAS degree in Landscape Architecture
from Kirkwood College. His sales experiences are varied and
extensive. He has directed successful sales departments and staff in a wide variety of
service enterprises and sales entities.
Thomas Murphy, CPA, Director
Mr. Murphy has nearly a decade of senior experience in Medicare and Medicaid and
private payment billing systems. He has been the chief financial officer for three major
nursing home companies and has overseen the establishment of significant accounting
systems in all of these companies. He received his degree in accounting from Angelo
State University in 1987 and became licensed as a Texas CPA in 1992. In addition to
exceptional accounting and computer system skills Tom also has hired and trained more
than 100 bookkeepers and accountants. He has demonstrated skills in personnel
management, vendor relations and banking relations.
Alan Kansas, JD, Director
Mr. Kansas received his B.A from the University of Texas at
Austin, and a Jurist Doctorate from the University of Houston
Law Center, where he graduated cum laude and served as an
editor of the Houston Law Review. After law school, Alan
became an associate at Baker Botts LLP, one of Texas' premier
law finns, where he practiced in the Litigation group. Alan is
admitted to practice in the State of Texas, the Southern and
Eastern Districts of the Texas Federal Courts, and the Federal
Fifth Circuit. He is a member of the Texas and Houston Bar Associations, and the
Houston Young Lawyers Association. Alan also served on the Board of Directors for the
Houston Chapter of the Texas Association of Business & Chambers of Commerce (2000
& 2001). Alan is presently Special Counsel with the New Orleans firm of Jones Walker.
B. L Parker, Director
For over 30 years B. L. Parker has dedicated his professional talents to the
State of Texas. He has served as the Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms and later
was elected the Sergeant-at-Arms of the Texas House of Representatives.
He served with distinction under four Governors in the State of Texas and
most recently has served in various capacities to then Governor Bush and
now Governor Perry.
A native of Tahoka, Texas B. L. Parker attended Texas Tech University and graduated
from the Dallas Mortuary College. Upon graduation in 1951 he entered the United States
Navy and served in the 1~t Marine Division in Korea as a Combat Corpsman. Some
highlights of his distinguished career include:
· 1998 - 1999 Texas House of Representative Assistant Doorkeeper,
· 1990 - 1991 Chairman Texas Employees Retirement System,
· 1989 - 1991 Legislative Aide - John Sharp State Comptroller,
· 1982 - 1989 Legislative Aide - Robert Bullock, Lt. Governor,
· 1979 - 1981 Special Assistant Governor William Clements,
· 1973 - 1979 Special Assistant Governor Dolph Briscoe,
· 1979 - 1984 Director/Member Lower Colorado River Authority,
· 1984 - 1990 Trustee Texas Employees Retirement System,
· 1983 - 1984 Vice Chairman Lower Colorado River Authority,
· 1982 - 19991 Member Guarantee Student Loan Corporation,
· 1980 - 1986 Board of Regents - Texas Lutheran College,
· 1955 - 1957 Texas House of Representatives Assistant Sgt-At-Arms,
· 1957 - 1961 Texas House of Representatives Sgt-At-Arms,
· Ex-Officio Member- Senate Natural Resources Committee,
· Ex-Officio Member - Senate Water Resources Committee,
· Chapter President - Texas Public Employees Association,
· Current Member - Texas Ranger Museum and Hall of Fame Foundation