IFT (Non-Emergency Transport) Questions

[medicdan]

No such time frame in California. I know company's that had to wait for as long as 1 1/2 years to get their application approved. It also means their ambulance that they purchased in order to file for application is just sitting around doing nothing.

i think you're confusing the state/county/city business license process with the provider applications with CMS for Medicare/Medicaid billing.

 

[BillingSpecialist]

i think you're confusing the state/county/city business license process with the provider applications with CMS for Medicare/Medicaid billing.

Now that makes more sense! Yes if your are referring to the inspections that are done on the trucks & then the licensure gets issued, then absolutely that could take awhile. I have a few squads that have been operating on extension letters for the past 2 years from their state because they can't get an inspector to the station.

 

[AlphaButch]

Yes, things can go smoother with the Medicare/Medicaid process. Ours took about 6 weeks because it took 2 extra weeks for the inspector to come out, no Texas Medicaid number allowed until after you get the Medicare number, then about two months to get most of the HMOs completely registered. But when starting a business, you should always try to expect the worse case (or near worse, as getting denied the number would be the worst case). This is why you should expect a 3-4 month no revenue period.

If you aren't running during this time and just waiting for the paperwork, this isn't too bad. BillingSpecialist may know the answer in regards to Medicare still back dating your application so your number is effective on the application day instead of the approval day as I know they were making some changes last year.

I advise to plan for everything to take twice as long as you originally thought and cost twice as much.

 

[BillingSpecialist]

No, they are not back dating those applications. They process them & will make the effective date their approval date. So, for someone who is opening a new squad....it is SUPER important that you do this application BEFORE you transport patients. If you don't you will be transporting them for FREE!!