REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT
AND RECORD OF ACTION
March 28, 2023
FROM
DAN MUNSEY, Fire Chief/Fire Warden, San Bernardino County Fire Protection District
SUBJECT
Title
Agreement with Digitech Computer, LLC for Ambulance Billing and Collection Services
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Acting as the governing body of the San Bernardino County Fire Protection District, approve an agreement with Digitech Computer, LLC, for the provision of ambulance billing and collection services, in an amount not-to-exceed $2,000,000, for the contract period of March 28, 2023, through May 31, 2028.
(Presenter: Dan Munsey, Fire Chief/Fire Warden, 387-5779)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Operate in a Fiscally-Responsible and Business-Like Manner.
Provide for the Safety, Health and Social Service Needs of County Residents.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of the recommended agreement will not result in the use of Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The not-to-exceed amount of the five-year contract is $2,000,000 and will be fully funded with revenues from San Bernardino County Fire Protection District’s (SBCFPD) client billing and collection activity for emergency ambulance transportation. Appropriation and revenue for this agreement is included in SBCFPD’s 2022-23 budget and will be included in future recommended budgets.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
SBCFPD provides emergency ambulance transport to residents in certain communities of the unincorporated areas throughout San Bernardino County. Ambulance transport billing and collection services are a vital function of the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) of the SBCFPD and are currently being provided by Wittman Enterprises, LLC (Wittman).
On December 20, 2016 (Item No. 103), the Board of Directors (Board) approved Agreement No. 17-31 with Wittman to provide ambulance billing and collection services in the amount of $1,470,000 for the period of January 1, 2017, through December 31, 2019. Subsequently, the Board approved four amendments to Agreement No. 17-31, with the most recent being Amendment No. 4 on December 6, 2022 (Item No. 59), that ultimately extended the term through June 30, 2023, and increased the total not-to-exceed amount to $1,840,000.
After a competitive procurement, the proposal submitted by Digitech Computer, LLC (Digitech) was determined by the SBCFPD evaluation panel to be the highest ranked proposal. As a result, Digitech is recommended for the award of this agreement.
Approval of the recommended agreement will allow SBCFPD to enter into a new ambulance billing and collection services agreement with Digitech for the period of March 28, 2023, through May 31, 2028. The recommended agreement provides that Digitech will be reimbursed on a contingency fee basis at a rate of 2.95% of “Net Collected Revenue,” as defined in the agreement, up to the not-to-exceed amount of $2,000,000. The recommended agreement allows for a transition period from Wittman to Digitech. During this period, each contractor’s agreement will be in effect. The transition period will end no later than June 30, 2023.
SBCFPD reserves the right to terminate the existing agreement with Wittman and the recommended agreement with Digitech, for any reason, with a 30-day written notice of termination.
PROCUREMENT
On July 26, 2022, SBCFPD and the Purchasing Department (Purchasing) released Request for Proposals (RFP) No. FPD122-FIREA-4579 through the County’s Electronic Procurement Network (ePro) to solicit proposals from interested and qualified vendors for ambulance billing services. Seven vendors submitted their proposals: Captivate Billing; Change Healthcare Technology Enabled Services LLC; Digitech Computer LLC; EMS Management & Consultants, Inc.; ImageTrend, Inc.; Symbiosis Inc.; and Wittman Enterprises, LLC.
A seven-member committee of subject matter experts from SBCFPD’s billing, fiscal, and administrative units evaluated the proposals using the following evaluation criteria: Qualifications and Experience, Technical Review, Cost, Demonstration, and References.
Based on the competitive evaluation results, Digitech was the highest ranked proposal by the evaluation panel and is recommended for the award of this agreement. The other proposers were notified of this recommendation and no appeals were received.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Scott Runyan, Principal Assistant County Counsel, 387-5455) on February 17, 2023; Purchasing (Cody Leslie, Lead Buyer, 387-2065) on December 21, 2022; Finance (Tom Forster, Administrative Analyst, 387-4635) on February 8, 2023; and County Finance and Administration (Valerie Clay, Deputy Executive Officer, 387-5423) on February 10, 2023.