Mission Statement
EMS Consultants strives to maximize customer profitability and satisfaction through the innovation of our products and services while remaining focused on reimbursement and data management for our clients. EMS Consultants adapts to fit the needs of the EMS providers whom we service by constantly remaining current and informed regarding changes affecting the reimbursement aspect of the EMS industry.
Our History
EMS Consultants was established in 1988 by founder and President, Richard Tibbetts to provide the EMS industry with a professional consulting service and complete billing software product line aimed to increase reimbursement for EMS services rendered, improve operational efficiency, and provide education to the EMS community. With the growing changes of the industry and Medicare, we decided in 2004 to diversify our product and service line and offer the market an outsource billing service, utilizing our own billing software platform and offering our clients free electronic field reporting software during the term of the contract. Our in-depth knowledge and experience as a consulting firm in dealing with Medicare, Medicaid, and Insurance, coupled with the fact that we provide a high quality billing, electronic field reporting, and collection software product made the decision to offer a billing service a relatively easy one.
Our Consultants
Richard A. Tibbetts, the President and CEO of EMS Consultants ,has beena retired Georgia paramedic with over 30 years in ambulance service experience, including 10 years at a hospital based ambulance in inner city Atlanta, 2 years with a metro Atlanta Fire Department based service, 1 year with a helicopter service and 18 years as the owner and chief operating officer of a 911 service in a community of 60,000 residents. As President of EMS Consultants, Rick has represented five state ambulance associations as their Medicare consultant, successfully negotiated with Medicare carriers to increase statewide Medicare reimbursement rates (through inherent reasonableness) in four states, successfully conducted overpayment and audit hearings on behalf of hundreds of ambulance services, prepared bids for and assisted many county governments with EMS system design and sat on two CMS committees. Rick currently writes all software specifications, handles all EMS system management, operational and design consulting, often speaks to state associations and conducts ambulance reimbursement seminars.
G. Christopher Kelly Esq., is an attorney who focuses on the ambulance industry. Chris writes the monthly column Emergency 4*1*1 in EMS Magazine, and sits on the magazine’s editorial advisory board. He has co-authored two books on HIPAA for EMS and ambulance services. Chris has represented many ambulance services in Medicare audits and formal investigations, state licensing issues, contracting issues, overpayment appeals and numerous other EMS related issues. Chris represents clients in many states across the U.S. He is also a frequent contributor to EMS publications and a frequent lecturer at state and national EMS meetings.
Stephen Everett, MBA, MPA, worked for HCFA (now CMS) for 14 years, first with the Office of Program Integrity and later as the Southeast Regional Chief of Medicare Policy. After his career with Medicare, Steve went on to serve as a Medicare Hearing Officer for 16 years. During this time, he heard thousands of ambulance related Medicare appeals involving at least 25,000 ambulance claims. Steve currently works with EMS Consultants as a Medicare Compliance Officer and assists with Medicare/Medicaid overpayment appeals cases.
