Rising prices, increased demand raise concerns for GFD
During a medical emergency, getting to the hospital as fast as possible can be key. That’s when ambulance services come in handy. But what happens when that service cost is too much for a patient to cover?
According to GoodRx.com, the nation’s average cost of an ambulance transport with basic services was $940, and almost $1,300 for a ride with advanced life support.
Gallup has two ambulance services: one private service through MedStar and the public service through the Gallup Fire Department.
In an interview with the Sun, Gallup’s Fire Chief Jon Pairett explained the prices his department charges.
A basic life support call, which happens when emergency medical service staff only transport a patient to a local hospital, costs $512 for the first mile, and then it’s $12.75 for each additional mile. On the other side of things, EMS personnel can provide an advanced life support level 2, which occurs when someone needs immediate potentially life-saving medication or attention. That service is priced out at $878 dollars for the first mile, and $12.75 for any additional miles.
For some people, that cost is covered at least partially by a private insurance company or Medicaid. Medicaid covers about 30% of the cost, but what happens when someone can’t cover the full amount they owe? Well, cities and EMS staff lose out on some valuable revenue. Revenue that could be spent on supplies for the fire department and EMS personnel.
WHAT GFD PLANS TO DO ABOUT IT
At the June 25 Gallup City Council meeting, Pairett introduced a program that could help bring some money back to the city when it comes to ambulance transportation.
The Medicaid Ambulance Supplement program is a federal program that was introduced in New Mexico about two and a half years ago. The program helps publicly owned or operated ambulance services get extra payments. These payments help cover the gap between what it actually costs to transport patients in emergencies and what they received from Medicaid, mileage, and other reimbursements.
The program is only available to patients with Medicaid insurance.
Pairett told the council that eight other ambulance services currently use the program in New Mexico, and they’ve received a total of $11 million, which equals out to a little over $1 million each.
Right now, Pairett and the GFD are only in the first steps of joining the program. Pairett explained that the GFD had received a request for proposal from a company that would help them get the program started and recuperate lost revenue.
The company is the Public Consulting Group, and they actually helped build the Medicaid Ambulance Supplement program.
The GFD will only need to hand over their data showing how many Medicaid patients they transport via ambulances, and Public Consulting Group will submit the city’s program application to the federal government.
But there is one slight downside: the city will have to buy into the program. Pairett couldn’t provide an exact amount, but he suggested that the city may have to pay about $400,000 to get into the program.
On the flip side, Pairett estimated that the city could see a revenue increase of almost $1 million. The fee the city would pay will also be refundable.
“This helps us recuperate some additional funds that we didn’t have access to before without it putting more burden on the citizens,” he said.
Overall, Pairett sees the program as a major plus for the city and taxpayers.
“The reason why it’s necessary is because right now the taxpayers are paying for the fire department to be here to respond to fire calls and medical calls and any emergency situations,” he said. “We’re never going to be making a profit; people don’t run a fire department or an ambulance service to make a profit. But the costs of providing these services are going up.”
The council approved GFD’s RFP. Pairett said he would be coming back to council in the next couple months to explain the program and Public Consulting Group’s findings in more detail.
By Molly Ann Howell
Managing Editor
