OGDENSBURG, New York – An upstate ambulance service says a new state law will keep it going. It’s all thanks to a change in the way insurance money is paid out.
Governor Kathy Hochul recently signed the Direct Pay Bill into law. It’s a big win for organisations like the Ogdensburg Volunteer Rescue Squad.
For years, Chief Ken Gardner said, insurance companies would give money to the person who was transported in an ambulance, but often that person would not use that money to pay the squad.
“In 2022, we lost $169,000 in money that people did not turn over. So I haven’t done 2023 yet, so I don’t know yet, but I guarantee it’s going to be up there as well,” Gardner said.
Gardner says state lawmakers like Senator Mark Walczyk and Assemblyman Scott Gray were instrumental in getting the bill passed.
Assemblyman Ken Blankenbush also supported the bill, saying in a statement, “Our dedicated EMS workers deserve to be paid directly for the services they provide. This bill makes sense!”
Once the bill goes into effect in 2025, Gardner says it will help rescue squads pay for new equipment.
“It’s going to help us. It’s not going to make us rich. It’s not going to make us rich by any means, but it’s going to allow us to be here for a long time, I think, where people can relax because this ambulance service is not going to close down,” he said.
St Lawrence County director of emergency services Matt Denner says while this is a step in the right direction, ambulance services still don’t get enough back from Medicare and Medicaid.
“Medicare, Medicaid reimbursement really hurts because when they do a transport, the reimbursement they get is nowhere near what the cost is,” he said.
Insurance companies oppose the law, arguing that it could allow ambulance services to charge whatever price they want.
