Category: Featured
What being “essential” means
Author: Tim Nowak Being essential is not a golden ticket. It’s also not a silver bullet. At best, it’s an unfunded mandate, but that’s the start that many EMS agencies need in order to begin getting the recognition and funding they deserve. Being classified as an “essential service” through …
Grant Opportunities
PCG understands that departments are in need of additional funding to support operations. We have also bared witness to the hundreds of thousands of dollars that go unclaimed each year in grant opportunities. What is the disconnect? What are the hardships in applying for grants? That is what PCG would …
PCG’s Webinar “For Comparison’s Sake” In Review
PCG’s Public Safety Consulting Service (PSCS) team presented the webinar “For Comparison’s Sake!”, which takes a case example approach toward identifying data metrics, operational factors, financial impacts, and policy elements that could all be utilized as relative comparable points from within – and outside of – fire and EMS departments …
Is Your Department Ready for a Medicaid Audit?
Many of PCG’s ambulance clients across the country are familiar with state Medicaid agency desk reviews. These pre-payment reviews help identify reporting errors that could result in overpayment of supplemental Medicaid revenues to providers. Recently, supplemental payment programs in several states have implemented more in-depth audits, generally post-payment, that require …
Ground Ambulance Providers are Officially on the CMS Clock to Start Collecting Data
Authors: Rachel Ray and Sarah DiCicco A Brief History of Medicare In 1965, Medicare was signed into law under President Lyndon B. Johnson. In 1966, Medicare was officially implemented and around nineteen million individuals enrolled in the program during that first year. In the 1970s, Medicare eligibility was expanded …
Comparable Differences: Apples and Oranges When Comparing Fire Departments
Author: Tim Nowak *Published to the International Association of Fire Chiefs on February 2nd, 2022* My department, your department, and another neighboring department — are we all comparable to one another, or are we truly different (and how)? Is your fire department an apple or an orange? Where do …
Act Now! Grant Funding Available for Rural EMS Agencies
Author: Tim Nowak The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is offering rural EMS agencies the opportunity to apply for grant funding, up to $200,000 for one year, to provide training and necessary equipment to help combat the effects of substance abuse and emergency response challenges within …
Bringing the New Year into Focus with 3 Resolutions
Author: Tim Nowak (3-4 minute read) Eat a little less junk food, lose a little excess body weight, save money for a family trip… we’ve all made New Years’ resolutions similar to these before, right? On a personal level, these are the generic, cookie-cutter responses that come into our minds …
Fire Apparatus (Non-Ambulance) Transports – Priority #1 for 2022
Author: Tim Nowak (3-minute read) COVID-19 aside, the consideration over whether fire apparatuses (not ambulances) can or should transport patients to hospitals will top headlines as a highly contentious practice as we progress in 2022 and it should be your #1 priority item as a fire chief entering this new …
Medicare Ground Ambulance Data Collection Survey…Ready, Set, Collect!
PCG is proud to offer the ambulance community with support services for the Medicare Ground Ambulance Data Collection survey. Thank you to all of those who were able to attend the webinar event live on December 15th. We feel that the information presented in the webinar was well received and …