Medical Billing Companies & Consultants in Elmhurst, IL

Paramedic Billing Services, Inc. (PBS) is an Illinois-based billing firm that works only on emergency medical transport claims. It is not a general medical billing company. Since 1990 it has helped public-sector EMS providers collect the money owed to them for ambulance responses. Its clients are mainly municipalities and fire protection districts across the Midwest, and the company says it works in four states.

Services for EMS and fire agencies

PBS bills and invoices patients, insurers and government payers on its clients' behalf. It also offers related services for fire service organizations:

• EMS and ambulance transport billing
• Fire billing solutions for departments and districts
• Ground Emergency Medical Transportation (GEMT) reporting and consulting
• Electronic patient care reporting (ePCR) solutions and data import
• Insurance discovery and verification
• Compliance help and client reporting

GEMT is a supplemental Medicaid program for publicly owned transport providers. It helps close the gap between what each transport actually costs and what Medicaid and other payers reimburse. PBS assembles the transport data agencies need for their annual Illinois cost report filings.

On the technology side, PBS says it can bring in patient care records from almost any ePCR format a client already uses. More complicated setups may need a longer onboarding period, during which PBS staff work with the agency to collect what is needed.

How PBS works with clients

Every client agency gets a dedicated account manager. PBS emphasizes prompt, regular communication so that fire and EMS leaders can focus on running their departments. It trains client staff on specific software and workflows either in person or by webinar, and it keeps agencies informed about industry developments and legislation that affect ambulance reimbursement. For patients and attorneys, PBS runs an online portal for records and payments. It also employs bilingual patient account representatives to handle questions from the public.

Team and background

PBS is family-owned and operated and has about 35 employees who are trained to work across several departments. The team includes Certified Ambulance Coders accredited through the NAAC, as well as certified EMTs and paramedics. That gives the billing staff hands-on knowledge of the field calls they are coding. The company is based in Elmhurst, in the western Chicago suburbs.

Fire chiefs from Illinois agencies such as Countryside Fire Protection District, Fox Lake Fire Protection District and the Mundelein Fire Department have given testimonials about the company. They point to its knowledge of state payment processes, its support with compliance and reporting, and an easy switch from their previous billing vendor.

For buyers comparing medical billing vendors, PBS is best suited to government-run EMS and fire agencies that want a specialist in ambulance revenue rather than a provider serving many medical specialties.