The overview
While Prosper currently contracts with Emergifire’s parent company, Emergicon, LLC., for emergency medical services (EMS) billing, this agreement allows the fire department to pursue reimbursement through insurance clauses covering fire department service charges.
“We don’t have our own billing company right now,” Prosper Fire Chief Stuart Blasingame said at the June 10 meeting. “So when we do things, we’re literally going through our rates and adding them down and sending emails out or sending them in the mail, hoping that we’re going to collect.”
The billing service will help the department recover costs for supplies and resources used during emergencies that aren’t covered by tax funding, Blasingame said.
“They target all the commercial policy claims,” Blasingame said. “It does not go to the individual itself. They don’t bill our residents, they don’t bill even the people that are involved in the accidents.”
The context
The billing service agreement follows the council’s May 13 vote to partner with Collin County and opt into the proposed Collin County Emergency Services District No. 1.
The initiative, which is set to appear on Prosper residents’ November ballot, aims to meet the growing demand for emergency services in areas just outside the town’s limits, where many residents live but are not covered by municipal emergency services, as previously reported by Community Impact.
With Collin County’s rapid population growth, nearby fire departments are facing increased demand for emergency services, particularly in rural and unincorporated areas, Blasingame said May 13.
What you need to know
The fire department estimates at least $30,000 in revenue from the partnership, but the exact total is unknown, according to city documents.
Items that would fall under potential cost recovery services include:
- Structure, vehicle and equipment fires
- Motor vehicle accidents
- Hazardous material incidents
- Industrial/commercial incidents
“They go after the insurance companies, and most insurance companies are going to have that clause in there that is going to allow us to collect for fire incidents and first response,” Blasingame said.
If Emergifire is not able to recover the funds from the insurance companies, charges are typically written off, Blasingame said.
Additionally, any funds recovered through Emergifire will go back directly to the fire department and can be used for any purpose to support the department.
“This is what they do, and they’re a lot better at it than our fire chiefs are,” Blasingame said. “It just simplifies things.”
