Ambulance plan has city fired up A month-long series examining Santa Monica City Hall finances
CITY HALL — Officials here estimate that nearly $1 million can be added to the city’s coffers through fees from ambulance services.
The Santa Monica Fire Department has proposed a new deal with an ambulance service that would generate $875,517 annually to the city general fund. That figure is based on the average of 6,876 patients being transported each year.
Ambulance companies charge patients for services, most of which is paid through medical insurance. However, contractual agreements with City Hall determine how much is paid back to fire departments that respond to medical emergencies.
Because City Hall’s contract with American Medical Response expires at the end of June, officials hope to capitalize on a more favorable deal with a new ambulance service. The average cost for an ambulance response is about $850 under City Hall’s contract with American Medical Response. But Gerber Ambulance Service proposes to charge substantially less, said Santa Monica Fire Chief Jim Hone.
“We are projecting that by holding the ambulance company to a certain amount, the average amount to the community should be $748.16,” he said. “So that is an average of $102 less than what AMR was charging. Gerber is willing to take less with a higher level of service.”
The Santa Monica City Council was scheduled to discuss the plan Tuesday night and it has to be approved in the 2004-05 budget, which is expected to be adopted in mid-June.
Changes in regulations have allowed cities to recoup more money from EMS services, which many municipalities have taken advantage of in the past few years, Hone said.
And as City Hall attempts to close its $4 million budget shortfall, officials are looking at as many revenue generators as possible while also slashing expenses.
The contract with Gerber Ambulance Service and the fees it can charge is based on a complex rate system. The plan to recover costs for services currently being provided by SMFD paramedics for response, assessment, treatment or the transport of a patient, is based on invoicing that’s called an “Advanced Life Support Assessment Fee,” or ALSAF, as well as a Code-3 response fee. The Code 3 fee covers costs when city paramedics use lights and sirens in responding to a call or transporting a patient, according to city documents.
The ALSAF is based on the current Los Angeles County rates and the difference between what it costs for advanced life support and basic life support, according to city documents. Advanced life support includes oxygen saturation, cardiac support and medications. Basic life support includes functions like bandaging, splinting and CPR.
Currently, the difference between the county-approved advanced life support rate of $593 and the basic life support fee of $386.75 is $206.25. The county’s Code 3 response rate is $90.50.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 26, 2004. Read the original PDF.