Marlboro still examining idea of billing for first aid

MARLBORO — Municipal officials and officers with Marlboro’s volunteer first aid squads are still investigating the question of whether third-party billing to patients’ insurance companies would be beneficial to the township.

Mayor Jonathan Hornik said the parties have been meeting to discuss the feasibility of implementing a system of third-party billing. No decision on the matter has been made, he said this week.

Marlboro is served by two volunteer first aid squads – the Morganville First Aid Squad, with headquarters on Tennent Road, and the Marlboro First Aid Squad, with headquarters on Wyncrest Road. The first aid squads do not bill any party for services rendered.

Recently a suggestion was made to look into the possibility of billing the insurance company of an individual who has been provided with services by one of the volunteer first aid squads.

A task force comprised of municipal officials and representatives from the two first aid squads was formed to examine the suggestion. The task force members met earlier this month to once again look at numbers and determine if billing insurance companies is a possibility.

Officials have said the general idea of the proposal is that the township would be able to bill the insurance company of a patient who received services from a first aid squads. Officials have said that if the insurance company denies payment, the patient will not be billed.

“We look at it as a value-added concept because the volunteer first aid members are doing the job anyway and the insurance companies put these funds on reserve in order to pay for transportation to hospitals of the insured resident. It’s just filling out the paperwork in order to try and collect these funds,” Hornik said.

Recent discussions have focused on how Marlboro would use any money that might be paid by the insurance companies.

The mayor said that at the moment the township is only looking to cover the costs of the first aid squads. He said the township currently helps to support both first aid squads. That support includes the purchase of ambulances.

“We would think this was a successful venture if we only covered the costs of the first aid squads,” he said.

Messages left by a reporter at the Marlboro First Aid Squad headquarters and the Morganville First Aid Squad headquarters were not returned.

The third-party billing concept is still being investigated and no definitive plans have been made yet, the mayor noted.

“Any expenses we can move off the residents’ backs is good,” Hornik said.