L.A. Mulls Plan To Outsource Emergency Response Billing

The Los Angeles Fire Department is considering a plan to outsource medical billing as part of its transition toward electronic collection of patient data. Under the proposal, paramedics would have handheld tablet computers that would allow them to input patient medical data at the scene of an emergency and store billing information. Some organized labor groups and city council members have argued that outsourcing medical billing and collection might eliminate jobs without cutting costs.

• "Los Angeles' Plan To Outsource Fire Department Billing Draws Heat" (Sewell, Los Angeles Times, 7/20).