City looking to raise ambulance fees
NORWICH – In an effort to keep pace with operational expenses necessary to maintain the ambulance service in the City of Norwich, the Common Council is looking to increase rates of the city’s Ambulance Fee Recovery Program.
Earlier this month, city officials met with MiltiMed, the ambulance billing service that has contracted with the city since 1998, to review current rates and expenses (a process undertaken every two to three years). The goal is to ensure that rates are consistent with surrounding regions and meet the operating costs of the ambulance service, explained City Mayor Joseph Maiurano.
Pending approval from the council at next week’s Common Council meeting, the rates will go into effect June 21.
“We’re keeping in step with what inflation rates are,” Maiurano said, citing rising costs such as gas, maintenance and labor to keep the ambulance service running. “It’s more of a protection measure ... We’re basically making sure that we cover what will be paid.”
Proposed rate increases affect both advanced life support (ALS) and basic life support (BLS) services. Non-emergency and emergency ALS transports will increase from the current $600 to $685, and BLS non-emergency and emergency rates will increase from $500 to $560. Some services including paramedic intercept, specialty care transport and treatment without transport will remain the same at $450, $750 and $275, respectively.
For many with medical insurance like Blue Cross Blue Shield, and particularly those with Medicaid and the elderly populace on Medicare, Maiurano said increased rates won’t have a direct impact because such recovery provisions are set at the federal level. For people on Medicaid, the city is paid whatever Medicaid will pay and must write off the difference. “We’re not going to get any more than what that insurance pays,” he added.
While it’s likely that ambulance fees will go up, they are still in conformity with rates in surrounding regions, according to City Director of Finance Bill Roberts. “Within reason, we want to make sure we can meet the needs of the service and we want to make them consistent as it pertains to our region,” he said.
The city’s ambulance service commonly responds to over 2,000 calls every year in its coverage area of the City of Norwich and the contracting townships of Norwich, Plymouth, Preston and North Norwich.
Earlier this month, city officials met with MiltiMed, the ambulance billing service that has contracted with the city since 1998, to review current rates and expenses (a process undertaken every two to three years). The goal is to ensure that rates are consistent with surrounding regions and meet the operating costs of the ambulance service, explained City Mayor Joseph Maiurano.
Pending approval from the council at next week’s Common Council meeting, the rates will go into effect June 21.
“We’re keeping in step with what inflation rates are,” Maiurano said, citing rising costs such as gas, maintenance and labor to keep the ambulance service running. “It’s more of a protection measure ... We’re basically making sure that we cover what will be paid.”
Proposed rate increases affect both advanced life support (ALS) and basic life support (BLS) services. Non-emergency and emergency ALS transports will increase from the current $600 to $685, and BLS non-emergency and emergency rates will increase from $500 to $560. Some services including paramedic intercept, specialty care transport and treatment without transport will remain the same at $450, $750 and $275, respectively.
For many with medical insurance like Blue Cross Blue Shield, and particularly those with Medicaid and the elderly populace on Medicare, Maiurano said increased rates won’t have a direct impact because such recovery provisions are set at the federal level. For people on Medicaid, the city is paid whatever Medicaid will pay and must write off the difference. “We’re not going to get any more than what that insurance pays,” he added.
While it’s likely that ambulance fees will go up, they are still in conformity with rates in surrounding regions, according to City Director of Finance Bill Roberts. “Within reason, we want to make sure we can meet the needs of the service and we want to make them consistent as it pertains to our region,” he said.
The city’s ambulance service commonly responds to over 2,000 calls every year in its coverage area of the City of Norwich and the contracting townships of Norwich, Plymouth, Preston and North Norwich.
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