faq

Question- Do you bill people for service even if you do not transport?

Answer: Unfortunately we do. We have incurred much cost being dispatched to a scene and the person being evaluated and sometimes treated and then refusing to go to the hospital. This has been an expense to us and we need to recoup some of our costs so we have intiated a nominal fee for these types of services. They are divided between whether you had a Basic ambulance who evaluated you or an Advanced Life Support who placed you on a monitor and evaluated you. We have tried to keep the costs to a minimum so as not be too expensive for people.

Question- When do you send out the subscriptions for the new year?

Answer: This is usually sent out the end of October or the beginning of November each year. It depends on how soon we receive the printing and how fast we put the information together in the envelopes. If you do not receive one by the middle of December, please call or email our office and we will send one out to you ASAP.

Question - If you are going to bill my Insurance, why should I become a subscriber to the Association?

Answer - This assists us in finances to keep us operating. It all assists us from asking the Commissioners of the Township to make this a tax based service for which each households taxes would be increased. A study had been done a few years ago and if we went tax based everyone's taxes would increase more than $150.00 per year. This is not to say that an increase would not be expected each year as well.

In addition as a subscriber, there are certain balances we may forgive. If your insurance has paid on a claim and you have no added insurance benefits and it is not a deductible, we may write this amount off. If you are not a subscriber we will come after you for the entire amount. A deductible is the only thing we may not write off. As a participator with Medicare and as we follow the guidelines therein, we are required by law to collect all deductibles as these are mandated by each carrier for the person to pay under their benefit plan.

As a non-subscriber, we will come after all moneys owed. As in most businesses, we provided a service and deserve to be paid. A careful study is completed each year and our services are inline with the costs of similar services within our County. In some instances our costs are even lower than that of other surrounding services.

Question - As a subscriber, Do I receive a reduced rate for my services?

Answer - In some cases yes. For all emergent and non-emergent Ambulance services there is no difference. We have other services such as Invalid Coach, Wheelchair Van, and Medical Taxi services. For these services yes we do provide a reduced rate. In cases of multiple services in the same week we can reduce the costs even more so as not to place a large burden on the patient and their family for such services.

Question - Can we utilize your Wheelchair Van, Medical Taxi, and Invalid Coach services if we do not live within your Township?

Answer - Yes you can. We have quite a few persons with whom we transport who live several miles outside of our territory. These people pay the non-subscriber rate which in most cases is still significantly lower than some other services on the area.

Question - Will I get one or two ambulances when I call 911.

Answer - Within Manheim Township you will normally only receive one ambulance. We are now a Mobile Intensive Care Unit which brings both Basic and Advanced Life support services to your residence. This was to alleviate costly expenses associated with two units providing two different levels of care.

In the event all of our vehicles are out on other calls, you will receive another unit from a surrounding territory. We have reciprocal agreements in place for service. This is mandated by the Department of Health. When being transported please let them know you are a subscriber of MTAA and this should alleviate any problems. They will bill your Insurance carrier for you the same as we do.

In the event we are the Advanced Life Support services, we have a joint billing agreement in place for all our surrounding communities so we may process your claim without problem.

Question - If I do not have Insurance, how do you handle my billing?

Answer - We always submit a claim to the person asking for Insurance information. If you have none and cannot afford to pay the balance in full, a simple telephone call is all that is required to make payment payment arrangements. We have many individuals who make monthly payments on their bills which is very acceptable to MTAA. We understand that in most cases these claims come from an unexpected circumstance and that you may not be able to afford a large bill. We will certainly work with you on a payment plan which will meet your needs. If you have a hardship in a month, please call and we will assist you. We will only become aggressive if we receive no moneys and have had no communication from you regarding your bill.

Question - Do you submit people to collection?

Answer - Yes we do. We try very hard to work with people, however you have certain individuals who will try hard to get out of meeting their obligation We will submit for payment for three (3) months. If we receive no payments, no Insurance information, no communication, etc., we will then assume you are trying to avoid us. It is at this time we send to our Collection Bureau for further proceedings. One of the collectors is an Attorney as well and we will utilize his service for legal collection of moneys owed.

Question - Do you provide any training classes?

Answer - Yes we do. We have our own classes on a regular basis. We also work with WEMS from the Warwick area on classes and from Ephrata Community Hospital as well. We provide training classes to businesses, as well as, private individuals.

Question - Do you take Credit Cards for payment?

Answer - Unfortunately we do not. Our Board has decided this is not something we would like to get into.

Question - When I send in my subscription information, is this held in a secure site?

Answer - Yes it is. There is limited access to this information. It is locked in a file in our business office and information is only used if and when we would transport you from a call and we could not get the information from you at that time.

Question - Are all crew members properly trained?

Answer - Yes they are. All persons must attend a minimum number of continuing education classes per year. All records of this education is kept on file and placed in each persons record. Competency tests are completed on a yearly basis. Q/A is completed on all patient care reports and submitted to the Command Physician for review.

Question - How do I become a subscriber?

Answer - You may download the application right from our website and mail it in. You may call the office and have one mailed to you or you may stop by our building and fill one out there.