No more free rides for ambulance patients

Gary Jacobsen
Published: July 8, 2008

The members of the Board of County Supervisors (BOCS) spend a lot of time gnashing their teeth and wringing their hands about the financial problems the county faces, but they spend precious little
time devising ways to reduce costs. Thus, they solve budgetary problems the only way they know how — by raising taxes.

When new tax rates are announced, county residents respond merely by staring blankly at the figures and then digging deeper into their wallets and purses. After all, if the BOCS says they must pay
more in taxes, it must be true. Right?

Well, not exactly. There are ways the county can hold the line on taxes. As a first step, the BOCS should appoint an outside “blue ribbon” panel to investigate the county’s gold-plated Fire & Rescue
Service, with a view toward reducing both capital and operational expenses.

Members of an impartial panel would, I’m sure, raise their eyebrows upon learning that the county provides free ambulance transports to area hospitals. This service is provided even though the persons
requesting the service have private health insurance, Medicare or Medicaid, all of which pay for ambulance service in the case of emergencies.

But since the service is free, real emergency calls are commingled with frivolous ones —even cases where people simply want to make doctor’s appointments. In other cases, every time little Johnny falls
off a swing, mom dials 911, even though it is not a real emergency. County residents pay and pay and pay.

In our area, Fairfax County, Arlington County, Fauquier County and the City of Alexandria have all dealt with this problem by charging for EMS hospital transports. Fairfax County, for example, charges
$400 and $10.00 per mile for Basic Life Support (BLS) transports. Advanced Life Support (ALS) transports (i.e., cardiac problems) costs $675 and $10.00 per mile. The rates in other jurisdictions are
comparable.

Louisa County (near Lake Anna) also imposes EMS transport fees, but allows residents to avoid deductibles and co-pays if they participate in an EMS Revenue Recovery plan at a cost of $65 annually
per household. The county would still bill the insurance company, Medicare or Medicaid at rates of $315 (BLS) to $550 (ALS) plus $7.50 per mile; however, no bills would ever be sent to the resident who
requested the service.

All these jurisdictions have compassionate billing programs which waive all EMS hospital transport charges for persons who are uninsured, who are not eligible for Medicare or Medicaid or who do not
have sufficient financial resources of their own.

Statewide, over 100 rescue squads have imposed charges for EMS transport services in a program the General Assembly authorized as revenue recovery. To reduce expenses, Prince William County
should join them.

Gary Jacobsen lives in Woodbridge.