Cannon County adopts write‑off guidelines for EMS billing, approves write‑offs including $358,348.92 for FY 2024–25

The Cannon County Board of Commissioners approved Resolution 2026‑7 on June 4 to establish county guidelines and standards for the write‑off of uncollectible emergency‑medical‑service fees following a prior comptroller audit.

Justin Harris explained that state billing rules require the county to bill each patient uniformly while Medicare and Medicaid have statutory payment rates; the difference becomes a forced write‑off on the county’s books. Harris said the policy clarifies when and how the county will write off uncollectible accounts, addresses bankruptcies and financial hardship, and requires the commission to review write‑offs annually so they do not accumulate.

Harris presented two items for action: a large historical backlog of outstanding accounts receivable created under the prior billing vendor (the transcript records the legacy total as reported by the presenter) and the fiscal‑year 2024–25 ending AR of $358,348.92. He told the commission that while the county must remove the amounts from its audited general books per comptroller rules, collection efforts will continue and the ambulance service’s internal records will still reflect collectible accounts.

Commissioners asked how the historical backlog grew so large; Harris said prior vendor performance was unsatisfactory and that write‑offs had not been performed regularly (he cited collection performance improving to recent annual collections around $919,000). The board voted to adopt the write‑off policy and approved the two write‑off motions as presented.

Next steps: County finance and EMS will record the approved write‑offs in the audited General Fund per comptroller guidance and continue collection attempts through the county’s billing and collections vendors.