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For Immediate
Release: 3/19/2009
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Anne Arundel County Approves EMS Transport Fee with Support of Anne Arundel Volunteer Firefighters
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Earlier this week, the Anne Arundel County Council approved an EMS (emergency medical services) transport fee with the support of their volunteer emergency medical technicians and firefighters. This brings Anne Arundel into line with other jurisdictions in the Baltimore and Washington metropolitan region that already have EMS fees or reimbursement programs.
“Anne Arundel has taken the right approach, and I am hopeful that we will be able to follow suit,” said Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett. “These are critical economic times, and it makes no sense to leave money on the table when insurance companies, Medicare and Medicaid provide reimbursement for ambulance transports.”
Montgomery County is the largest jurisdiction in the metropolitan area that does not already have an ambulance transport cost recovery program. The plan that Leggett proposed and included in his fiscal year 2010 budget will ensure that no Montgomery County resident is charged for ambulance transport, and that there is no change in the way emergency medical services are provided. The EMS transport cost recovery process will be invisible to patients, and anyone in need of emergency help will be encouraged to call 911 without hesitation, as they do now.
Jurisdictions that recover ambulance transport costs include: the District of Columbia, City of Baltimore, Prince George’s County, Frederick County, Fairfax County, Arlington County, and the City of Alexandria. Anne Arundel County will join these jurisdictions in April when billing starts there.
The proposed Montgomery County ambulance transport cost recovery program is expected to bring in $14 million in much-needed revenue. The County will collect reimbursements for emergency medical transport directly from insurance companies, Medicare and Medicaid. Those costs are already factored into most health insurance company rate schedules, and the process of reimbursing the County will start at the hospital where the patient is taken. No patient will be burdened with extra paperwork or forms. No costs will be recovered from uninsured residents, and everyone (regardless of ability to pay) will receive the same high quality emergency medical services that are currently provided. Whenever a 911 call is made for help, the first priority will always be to take care of that patient’s immediate medical needs.
In Montgomery County, the revenue from the EMS transport recovery will be dedicated to maintaining, augmenting and enhancing the first-class emergency fire and rescue services. The funds will directly assist the combined (career and volunteer) Fire and Rescue Service to meet the demands for fire apparatus and equipment, including the acquisition of 30 new EMS units that are in immediate need of replacement, as well as
the associated maintenance and replacement costs. In addition, the EMS recovery program will provide critical infrastructure such as additional fire and rescue stations and staffing in the growing upcounty areas; career and volunteer staff and administrative support services, as well as incentives for county-wide volunteer opportunities; four-person staffing of emergency response equipment; and compensation and benefits for firefighters and emergency medical technicians.
The Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service is a full-spectrum life safety agency protecting nearly one million people who live and work in Maryland’s most populous jurisdiction. With an operating budget of approximately $190 million, there are 40 fire and rescue facilities in Montgomery County, including a 56-acre training academy and a state-of-the art communication facility. There are also 35 community fire and rescue stations strategically located throughout the County.
For more information about the proposed Emergency Medical Services Transport recovery program, go online to http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/emstransportfee
or call Scott Graham at 240-777-2493.
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Release ID: 09-131
Media Contact: Patrick Lacefield 240-777-6507
or Donna Bigler240-777-6507
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