Active SLED Opportunity · SOUTH CAROLINA · BEAUFORT COUNTY, SC
AI Summary
Beaufort County, SC seeks a firm to provide EMS billing services including patient billing, debt collection, hardware refresh, and software management. The contract is for one year with four optional renewals. Proposals are due by April 28, 2026.
Provide Emergency Medical Services (EMS) billing services. County will award one contract for a firm to provide all services necessary to receive and process patient billing and SC Debt Setoff collection. The term of the contract resulting from this solicitation shall be for an initial one (1) year term with four (4) additional one (1) year terms, not to exceed five (5) years.
Contractor must be prepared to furnish, within the first year a complete hardware “refresh” including ruggedized mobile computing hardware and all attendant hardware peripherals, as defined in Appendix A of this RFP, at the billing company’s expense. Also required during the term of the contract are the monthly fees paid to ESO Solutions for modules Electronic Health Records, Check Lists and Logistics, Personnel Management, Scheduling, Insights, Handtevy, and Analytics software modules. The current call volume is between 20,000 and 24,000 calls per year. Should the contract with the Billing Company and Beaufort County EMS terminate any hardware and/or software purchased during the period of the contract become the property of Beaufort County EMS.
Demonstrated understanding of the problems and needs presented by the project.
Soundness of offeror’s approach to the problems and needs presented by the project, including offeror’s methodology for achieving specific
tasks and objectives
Experience and capacity of offeror, including recent and related experience.
Qualifications of project personnel and offeror’s ability to commit a capable staff and support for a project of this size under the time
constraints as listed in the RFP.
Cost effectiveness and reasonableness of offeror’s proposed fee.
The contractor certifies, by submission of this qualification statement or acceptance of a contract, that neither it nor its principals is presently debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment, declared ineligible, or voluntarily excluded from participation in this transaction by any State, Federal department, or agency.
It further agrees by submitting this qualification statement that it will include this clause without modification in all lower tier transactions, solicitations, proposals, contracts, and subcontracts. Where the bidder/contractor or any lower tier participant is unable to certify to this statement, it shall attach an explanation to this solicitation/bid.
CERTIFICATION BY CONTRACTOR
Regarding
NON-SEGREGATED FACILITIES
The Bidder certifies that he does not, and will not, provide and maintain segregated facilities for his employees at his establishments and, further that he does not, and will not, permit his employees to perform their services at those locations, under his control, where segregated facilities are provided and maintained. Segregated fountains, transportation, parking, entertainment, recreation, ad housing facilities; waiting, rest, wash, dressing, and locker room, and time clock, work, storage, restaurant, and other eating areas which are set apart in fact, or by explicit directive, habit, local custom, or otherwise, based on color, creed, national origin, and race. The Bidder agrees that, except where he has obtained identical certifications from proposed subcontractors for specific time periods, he will obtain identical certifications from proposed subcontractors prior to the award of subcontractors exceeding $10,000.00 which are not exempt from the provisions of the Equal Opportunity clause, and that he will retain such certifications in his files.
The Bidder agrees that a breach of this certification is a violation of the Equal Opportunity clause in this Contract. The penalty for making false statements is prescribed in 18 U.S.C. 1001.
To achieve a uniform review process and allow for adequate comparability, the information is to be organized in the manner specified below and the entire package must not exceed 15 double-sided printed pages excluding cover pages. Please include a cover page at the start of each section.
Please provide your complete pricing proposal.
Q (No subject): To what extent will the location of the bidder’s proposed location or headquarters have a bearing on any award?
A: It is not part of the evaluation criteria
Q (No subject): How are fees currently being billed by any incumbent(s), by category, and at what rates?
A: Beaufort County Emergency Medical Services (EMS) ambulance fee schedule: ALS E A0427 $725.00 BLS E A0429 $535.00 ALS 2 A0433 $1,070.00 SPECIALTY CARE TRANSPORT $1,085.00 ALS TREATMENT NO TRANSPORT $150.00 BLS TREATMENT NO TRANSPORT $75.00 MILEAGE $17.25 ALS DISPOSABLE SUPPLIES $100.00 BLS DISPOSABLE SUPPLIES $50.00 IV SUPPLIES $50.00 OXYGEN SUPPLIES $50.00
Q (No subject): What estimated or actual dollars were paid last year, last month, or last quarter to any incumbent(s)?
A: This can be requested via a FOIA request
Q (No subject): What were your annual gross charges last year or for the last 12 months?
A: Last 12 months: $11,820,844
Q (No subject): What were your annual total adjustments for last year or for the last 12 months?
A: Last 12 months: $2,738,546 (contractual allowances)
Q (No subject): What were your annual contractual allowance write offs for last year or for the last 12 months?
A: Last 12 months: $2,738,546
Q (No subject): What were your annual gross collections last year or for the last 12 months?
A: Last 12 months (net collections): $6,480,028.00
Q (No subject): What were your annual billable transports last year or for the last 12 months?
A: Last 12 months: 14,169
Q (No subject): What are your per-mile ground transport charges?
A: Refer to the answer for question #2
Q (No subject): What are your advanced life support charges?
A: Refer to the answer for question #2
Q (No subject): What are your advanced life support emergency level 2 charges?
A: Refer to the answer for question #2
Q (No subject): What are your basic life support charges?
A: Refer to the answer for question #2
Q (No subject): What are your basic life support emergency charges?
A: Refer to the answer for question #2
Q (No subject): What are your specialty care transport charges?
A: Refer to the answer for question #2
Q (No subject): What are your treatment without transport charges?
A: Refer to the answer for question #2
Q (No subject): What is your average per-trip charge?
A: $833
Q (No subject): When were the last changes to your transport rates, and are you considering raising any of the rates currently charged?
A: January 2021 via Beaufort County Ordinance 2020/13
Q (No subject): Are there any other charges you assess not otherwise covered by our questions?
A: No
Q (No subject): What percentage of your patients are residents versus non-residents, and do you charge the two groups differently?
A: This is not a statistic that we collect as all patients are charged the fees set forth by Beaufort County Ordinance 2020/13
Q (No subject): Do you operate any shared services agreements with any other municipal or county governments in the region and, if so, with whom?
A: No
Q (No subject): What were your transports per year for advanced life support for last year or for the last 12 months?
A: 9,395
Q (No subject): What were your transports per year for advanced life support emergency level 1 for last year or for the last 12 months?
A: 9,395
Q (No subject): What were your transports per year for advanced life support emergency level 2 for last year or for the last 12 months?
A: 283
Q (No subject): What were your transports per year for basic life support for last year or for the last 12 months?
A: 4,250
Q (No subject): What were your transports per year for basic life support emergency for last year or for the last 12 months?
A: 4,250
Q (No subject): What were your transports per year for specialty care transport for last year or for the last 12 months?
A: Beaufort County EMS does not do SCT transports
Q (No subject): What were your transports per year for treatment without transport for last year or for the last 12 months?
A: 241
Q (No subject): What is your payer mix expressed as percentages of 100% billed?
A: Payer Percentage Facility 0.10% Private insurance 15% Medicaid 1.60% Medicaid MCO 8% Medicare 32% Medicare Advantage 26% Other Govt. payers 3% Patient 14% TPL 0.30%
Q (No subject): How many total transport vehicles do you now operate?
A: 11 FRONT LINE AND 9 RESERVE TRANSPORTING AMBULANCES. ADDITIONALLY WE HAVE 5 QRV UNITS
Q (No subject): What is your payer remit mix expressed as percentages of 100% of what you typically receive?
A: Payer Percentage Facility 0.10% Private insurance 15% Medicaid 1.60% Medicaid MCO 8% Medicare 32% Medicare Advantage 26% Other Govt. payers 3% Patient 14% TPL 0.30%
Q (No subject): What is your average loaded miles per trip?
A: 9
Q (No subject): What is your average revenue per call?
A: Average cash per trip (mature): $564
Q (No subject): Do you have a lockbox provider and, if so, which provider?
A: Yes. Wells Fargo Bank
Q (No subject): If you have a lockbox provider, will that provider remain in place as a result of this procurement?
A: Yes
Q (No subject): Do you have an EPCR provider and, if so, which provider?
A: Yes. ESO Solutions
Q (No subject): Do you have a collection agency provider and, if so, which provider?
A: Yes. Diversified Adjustment Services Inc. This is subject to change as we are currently seeking RFP for Collection Services as well.
Q (No subject): Which local hospitals or care facilities typically receive most of your patients?
A: Beaufort Memorial Hospital, Novant Coastal Carolina Medical Center, Novant Hilton Head Medical Center and Memorial Health University Medical Center.
Q (No subject): When is the go-live date?
A: July 1, 2026
Q (No subject): When is the anticipated contract start date?
A: July 1, 2026
Q (No subject): When is the anticipated award date?
A: Award date is dependent on committee and council approval
Q (No subject): Are bidders permitted to deviate in any way from any manner of quoting fees you may be expecting? For example, if there is a pricing page in the RFP, can bidders submit an alternate fee structure? If there is no pricing page in the RFP, do you have any preference for how bidders should quote fees or can bidders create their own pricing categories?
A: Pricing should be based on percentage of revenue collected
Q (No subject): Please describe your level of satisfaction with your current or recent vendor(s) for the same purchasing activity, if applicable.
A: Satisfied
Q (Hardware): Section 5.2 lists Hardware Requirements for 30 Panasonic Toughbooks and related accessories. Please confirm whether respondents are expected to provide and price this equipment as part of this EMS Billing Outsource proposal, or whether Section 5.2 is provided for informational/compatibility purposes only.
A: There is no deviation from the specific hardware outlined in RFP. It is not necessary to provide the cost of the hardware in your response to the RFP.
Q (Page limit): Section 7 states the proposal package must not exceed 15 double-sided printed pages excluding cover pages. Since this solicitation requires electronic submission through the Procurement Portal, please confirm how the page limit will be applied to the uploaded PDF. Specifically, does this mean 30 single-sided PDF pages or 15 PDF pages total? Also, please confirm what content is excluded from the page limit besides cover pages, such as section cover pages, table of contents, org charts, timelines, appendices, resumes, references, exceptions/exclusions, and the separate pricing submission.
A: 30 single sided pages is the same as 15 double sided. Only the cover pages, table of contents, appendices, and exceptions/exclusions are exempt from the page count.
Q (No subject): What are your advanced life support emergency level 1 charges?
A: Refer to the answer for question #2
Q (Confidentiality): Section 9.0 states that offerors must visibly mark as ‘Confidential’ each part of the proposal they consider proprietary, but the RFP does not explain how confidential information should be handled in an electronic Procurement Portal submission. Please clarify Beaufort County’s preferred method for identifying confidential content in uploaded proposal files, including whether confidentiality must be marked on each page containing such information or whether file-level or section-level labeling is sufficient. In addition, please confirm whether the County will accept both: (1) a complete unredacted proposal marked confidential as applicable, and (2) a redacted version suitable for public disclosure.
A: Please submit your unredacted proposal. Please mark anything personal or proprietary as confidential.
SLED stands for State, Local, and Education. These are solicitations issued by state governments, counties, cities, school districts, utilities, and higher education institutions — as opposed to federal agencies.
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