City manager in charge of establishing medical transport rates when necessary
The last time fees and charges for life-support services by Plant City Fire Rescue were established was more than a decade ago.
And city leaders have determined it’s time to update and again establish fees and charges for basic and advanced life-support assistance by paramedics and Emergency Medical Technicians. Basic life support is transporting a patient without advanced assistance such as IV medication via an IV or cardiac monitoring.
At the Plant City commission meeting April 8, commissioners voted 4-0 (Commissioner Michael Sparkman was absent) to adopt a resolution authorizing City Manager Bill McDaniel to conduct annual reviews and if necessary, establish fees and charges for basic and advanced life support services.
According to the city, the Plant City Fire Rescue fees and charges for basic and advanced life support services need revising. The city’s resolution clarifies and provides that the city manager has the authority to establish fees and charges for basic and advanced life support services by Plant City Fire Rescue.
For the city and it residents, establishing the fees will ensure charges for basic and advanced life support services remain current.
Currently, those fees are about $400 on average for a medical transport within Plant City. McDaniel said those fees could possibly increase if necessary based on the market.
The fees are subsidized through taxes and users of emergency services paying their user fees, a “proportionate share to help fund that service,” said McDaniel. Emergency transport and other services are paid through private insurance, Medicare or Medicaid in most instances.
“One thing about us and the way we provide service is we’re not here to make a profit on ambulances,” he said. “We may add it up and it may cost $1,200 or $1,500 for that transport, well that’s not what we’re looking to ne collect.”
However, not all fire rescue transport users are taxpayers in Plant City.
“You need to collect a rate for the service that helps cover the cost of providing it,” said McDaniel.
McDaniel said the financial “annual reviews” would entail seeing what where the Basic Life Support and Advanced Life Support emergency services market and what the city’s costs are versus what’s being charged for services – similar to setting building, planning and zoning and other types of fees.
PCFR Fire Chief Jeremy Sidlauskas said rates were at the discretion of McDaniel, who has the authority to establish rates. He said Plant City rates are “significantly lower” than other county fire-rescue departments and having McDaniel establish fees helps PCFR efficiency.
“It definitely streamlines the process. It allows more real-time action on individual’s billing if there’s a change to Medicare or Medicaid…that bills need to be altered up or down because of revenue surpluses or whatever,” said Sidlauskas, in his third month with PCFR. “It gives him the freedom as a city manager the discretion to make those decisions.”
