By Cory Shaffer
cleveland.com
LIVERPOOL TOWNSHIP , Ohio — Liverpool Township will turn to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office to collect unpaid ambulance bills dating back as far as 10 years, giving the state access to collection tools unavailable to the township.
Township fiscal officer Rita Keller told trustees during a June meeting that the township has been approved to participate in the attorney general’s debt collection program after completing the required paperwork.
“We have applied to let them do collections in lieu of the township trying to do it, which we have no way to do it,” Keller said.
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Under the program, the attorney general’s office can pursue delinquent ambulance accounts that are up to 10 years old. Keller said the state has a variety of collection options, including intercepting Ohio income tax refunds and withholding Ohio Lottery winnings from people who owe qualifying debts.
The township has written off significant amounts of unpaid ambulance bills over the past decade because of incorrect addresses, an inability to locate patients, nonpayment and cases involving estates that could not satisfy the debt, Keller said.
Life Force Management, the township’s ambulance billing provider, is expected to assist with the process because it maintains the records for the delinquent accounts. Keller said the township is awaiting additional paperwork from the attorney general’s office before collections begin.
Once collections start, recovered funds are expected to be deposited into the township’s accounts weekly after the state deducts any applicable collection costs, Keller said.
Officials did not say how much is currently owed in unpaid ambulance bills or how many delinquent accounts will be referred to the attorney general’s office.
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