ALBANY — After a budget fight for their lives, the United
New York Ambulance Network (UNYAN) today warned about the negative impact of
legislation just passed in the State Senate that would limit access to quality
and reliable emergency medical services (EMS) for thousands of New Yorkers and
place an additional financial burden on the state. The legislation – S.3685
(Brooks) / A.1778 (Jones) – would allow volunteer fire districts to bill for
EMS, fundamentally altering the statewide EMS system and harming the statewide
ambulance industry and healthcare network.
“This legislation would completely change our current EMS
system, negatively impacting the quality and dependability of service, and at
the end of the day, it will leave thousands of New Yorkers left to pay the
bill. This misguided policy will be crushing to our rural communities and our
most vulnerable neighbors, the elderly and the disabled,” said David Butler,
Chairman of UNYAN and CEO of TLC Medical Transportation Services, which
provides ambulance services in Central New York.
Currently, New York State volunteer fire districts are
supported by taxpayer dollars, but this proposal would effectively ask tax
payers to pay again for the services that they already paid for through their
property taxes. Volunteer fire districts would essentially be double-dipping
into taxpayer dollars and the state’s Medicaid resources. Meanwhile, the
statewide ambulance network that is vital to the healthcare system – and who
pay sales and property taxes and contribute to payroll for thousands of EMS
workers – would be harmed.
With Medicaid reimbursement rates already far below the cost
of doing business and inflation, every time an ambulance provider answers a
call from a patient covered by Medicaid, they lose money. That math doesn’t add
up. But now, volunteer fire district ambulances – who already receive
additional financial support from taxpayers – would accept Medicare
reimbursements as payment in full and rely on taxpayer funding to cover their
loss. This is a luxury that ambulance providers don’t have.
The legislation would also disproportionally impact rural
communities who rely on private-public partnerships between volunteer fire
district EMS providers and commercial providers to send an experienced
paramedic to provide advanced life support (ALS) interventions in serious or
life-threatening situations. New York is the only state in the country that
provides Medicare reimbursement for these paramedic intercepts. But if this
bill becomes law, this crucial patient benefit disappears, leaving New York’s
cost-effective ALS Intercept system financially crippled and patients – many of
whom are seniors or disabled – left to foot the bill for an ambulance transport
of more than $500.
In addition to harming the pocketbooks of New York
residents, this proposal puts the fiscal well-being of our state in jeopardy.
At a time when New York faces a multi-billion dollar budget deficit, this bill
increases Medicaid and Medicare spending and places an additional financial
strain on our state and healthcare system. If enacted, volunteer fire district
ambulances will begin billing New York’s Medicaid program for fees for EMS.
Each claim submitted by a volunteer fire district ambulance will be a new claim
against an already overtaxed Medicaid program, and all these claims together
will cost the program upwards of $20 million.
Across the state, we are already seeing the reality of
ambulance providers being forced to close their doors, and the impact is real.
There are fewer ambulances on the road leading to longer response times. Our
current system already works, and if this bill becomes law it will end up doing
more harm than good. Now it’s time for lawmakers in Albany to stand up for patient
access to EMS across our state, wisely spend New York taxpayers’ hard-earned
dollars, and prevent this bill from becoming law.
About UNYAN: The United New York Ambulance Network (UNYAN)
is a not-for-profit membership corporation established in early 1998 to advance
the highest standards of training and care in the medical and emergency medical
transportation industry. UNYAN members provide ambulance services in 22 of the
state’s top 25 cities, encompassing 54 counties and provide quality and timely
medical services to millions of New Yorkers 24 hours a day, seven days a week,
and 365 days a year.
