Soon – possibly as early as next week – Bradford area
municipalities will decide whether to contribute to the operation
of the Bradford City ambulance service.
Residents and government leaders have been discussing options
since late August when Bradford City officials announced it wanted
a “fair share” of ambulance costs or it would be forced to cut off
service to the non-participants.
In an effort to inform the public about this issue, The Era has
conducted interviews and pulled together information from news
accounts which we will publish today and Saturday.
Today, some background.
‘FAIR SHARE’
In August, at a Tuna Valley Council of Governments informational
meeting, area township and borough supervisors were told they
needed to find a way to support the ambulance service that has been
serving their residents at the cost of the city taxpayers alone for
16 years.
“The city service is very viable and it will continue. The only
thing is, it is unfair for the City of Bradford residents to carry
the full burden of the cost of equipment and manpower,” said Mayor
Michele Corignani in a story printed Sept. 21.
HOUSEHOLD COST
Fire Chief Bill McCormack had already met with the supervisors
in advance of the COG meeting and provided them a calculated list
of calls in a three-year range and compared that to the number of
residents in each municipality as listed in a 2000 census.
Using those numbers and the amount sought by the ambulance
service, he calculated the estimated cost per household.
Costs he included were, call-out time of replacing those on an
emergency call at $66,000; maintenance at $6,000; and five-year
amortization of two ambulances at $40,000.
For Bradford Township residents per household, the cost would be
$8.25 a year; for Corydon Township residents the cost would be
$9.18 a year; Foster Township residents would pay $8.09 per year;
for Lafayette Township residents the cost would be $9.18 a year;
and Lewis Run Borough residents would pay $7.47 per year.
These payments will not be paid by the resident to the city for
service, but only reflect a breakdown of what the municipalities
would pay in total.
The residents of those townships and borough would however be
charged a fee determined by what type of service they need when it
becomes necessary for them to call an ambulance for assistance.
ALS, BLS CALLS
As explained in several presentations provided by McCormack, an
Advanced Life Support call would cost a patient $550. For a Basic
Life Support call, $350 would be charged.
An ALS call requires one emergency medical technician (EMT)
(which all city firemen are) and a paramedic. These calls might
include the need for advanced level of care. A BLS call involves
two EMTs who can perform duties such as CPR, First Aid, splinting
and automatic external defribulation.
Of that, McCormack explained, Medicare will approve $278.96 for
an ALS call leaving a patient co-pay of $69.74 and for a BLS call
an amount of $220.92 would be approved, leaving a co-pay of
$55.23.
Medicaid on the other hand would approve $200 for an ALS call
while a BLS call would be reimbursed $100.
He has said, too, that most of the private insurance companies
will pay the full charge.
THE TIMETABLE
Corignani has said in a previous interview that if any or all
municipalities decide they do not want to pay the additional costs,
“We will notify the state we are no longer the primary ambulance
service in that area. The (McKean County Emergency) 911 Center
would call their primary service in the event they choose
another.”
The mayor said that City Council has been thinking about this
issue for at least two years and felt it was time to act.
Questions by both residents and supervisors of the
soon-to-be-affected municipalities have included where the funds
collected will actually go; how the payments are accepted and made
for the existing calls by patients or providers; and whether or not
there were other providers that could cover the municipalities if
needed.
PRIORITY CARE
Brian Gustafson, director of Priority Care Ambulance Service,
gave a presentation to the Bradford Township supervisors and
residents of what his service might provide. At this time,
Gustafson has been working to acquire the Hilltop Ambulance Service
to add to his fleet.
Gustafson bought the McCormack Ambulance Service located on
Chestnut Street in Bradford in June. That location provides
transfer service of patients to and from hospitals and nursing care
facilities as needed.
He has said that if a large enough municipality and others
decide they don’t want to pay for the city ambulance service, he
would be willing to provide service to those residents. His costs
would be in the form of voluntary memberships ranging from about
$15 for a single person to $35 for a family.
For an ALS call, Gustafson said he would charge anywhere from
$500 to $1,800, depending on the needs of the patient. He said the
initial charge would not matter because the insurance companies
only approve what they approve.
He said there would be no co-pay if a patient had a
membership.
SEPARATE ACCOUNT
Bradford City has said that money collected from the
municipalities will be put toward the items they are directly
related to. They have also said the money for the amortization of a
new ambulance every five years will be put in a separate
account.
Corignani said “the books are always open” for review by any
municipality requesting to look at them. She added the ambulance
funds would be put into an “open defined reserve fund.”
The mayor has also stated that it would not matter if one
municipality decided to go with another provider, that the proposed
cost to each municipality will remain the same, based on the
numbers already calculated.
Since the issue has come to light and many municipalities have
asked whether or not the amounts collected by the city would
increase over time, a new proposal has been written allowing them
to join in a contract of either three or five years.
