Indiana ambulance company says new state laws will help it stay afloat
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The CEO of a major ambulance company says two new state laws will help keep ambulances in business and could lead to lower patient bills.
Russell Ferrell, the CEO of Terre Haute-based Trans-Care Ambulance, says changes to health insurance reimbursement rates for ambulances meant private ambulance companies had to pass along their costs to patients in the form of high bills. He says those bills cover everything from fuel and equipment for the ambulances themselves to training for new and existing personnel.
Ferrell says companies such as his provide more than half of the ambulance service in Indiana but don’t have the subsidies taxpayer-supported services such as fire departments and EMS enjoy.
“We’re subsidized zero, so everything we get is how we operate and how we survive for tomorrow,” Ferrell said.
Last month, Gov. Eric Holcomb signed two bills dealing with how insurance reimburses ambulance services for the costs involved with transporting a patient.
One requires private insurance companies to negotiate prices directly with ambulance service providers rather than setting a blanket reimbursement rate of 20%, as they do currently. Ferrell says most ambulance trips involve private insurance.
A companion bill raises the Medicaid reimbursement rate for the first time in at least 30 years.
Ferrell says the two bills will especially aid smaller ambulance companies with limited financial resources, which this could lower patient bills as well as preserve 911 services.
In larger cities like Indianapolis, Ferrell says companies like his handle non-emergency medical transport so taxpayer-supported EMS can focus on emergency calls. In rural areas, private companies sometimes are the only ambulance services available.
“Eighty-plus percent of the ambulance world is not 911 life and death. It is routine transfer work to a higher level of care, to a therapy center, it’s lots of other options that are out there,” Ferrell said. “It’s been tough to satisfy those because of the dollars being spent. Today, hopefully, moving forward, we’ll be able to get better conditions physically for us, it provides better care for patients down the line.”
The new laws do not apply to air ambulances because those are regulated separately.