Fire Dept. to bill for ride-alongs on AMR calls

Tuesday, November 11, 2008 5:46 AM EST

By Pamela McLoughlin, Register Staff

NEW HAVEN — The Fire Department will bring in an estimated $100,000 under a new ordinance that will charge clients when a firefighter trained in lifesaving techniques rides in the American Medical Response ambulance.

Currently, the service is provided at no charge by the city when firefighters respond to a medical call and an AMR ambulance is needed to transport a patient to the hospital. Under the new law, the client or sick person will be billed through insurance as part of the billing package by AMR.

The city will collect a fee from that billing bundle, but will convey to AMR that they don’t want aggressive collection if the debt isn’t paid, said New Haven Chief Administrative Officer Rob Smuts.

“I think it’s a great idea,” said Aldermanic President Carl Goldfield, D-29.

“We’re going to be able to pull in a revenue stream that’s been left on the table; it won’t cost taxpayers anything.”

Smuts said three quarters of the calls to the Fire Department are for medical situations. When 911 is dialed, the Fire Department usually responds, followed by AMR. He said when an ambulance takes a patient to the hospital a Fire Department paramedic usually rides in back and the city doesn’t see any money because AMR takes all the insurance information. AMR will now collect a fee for the city and charge a nominal administrative cost.

Smuts said people have been talking about such a move for a long time and that other towns, such as West Haven, have a similar measure.

New Haven Alderman Mordechai Sandman, D-28, said he supports the measure, approved recently by the Board of Aldermen, but also likes that they’re not going to “hound people if they don’t pay.”

Sandman said people already pay taxes and the city has criticized major hospitals for aggressive collection techniques and so would be hypocritical to be aggressive in collecting themselves.

“This is going to be found money for the city,” Sanman said.