By Stacy Parker
The Virginian-Pilot
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Faced with rising costs and a decline in fundraising, the city’s Department of Emergency Medical Services wants to charge a fee for ambulance service.
Pre-hospital emergency medical care is currently provided free of charge in Virginia Beach unlike other cities in the region including Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Hampton and Newport News.
“We know it’s feasible to do so as most other cities do,” Department of Emergency Services Chief Jason Stroud told the City Council Tuesday.
In Virginia Beach, 10 mostly volunteer-based rescue squads operate throughout the city and are funded through donations, grants and money from the general fund.
Stroud presented the findings of a study, which recommends ambulance charges in Virginia Beach ranging from $583 to $887 depending on the level of service plus $13 per mile for transport. The rate would generate an estimated $14 million of revenue in the first year, according to the study.
The City Council could choose to only bill insurance companies and forgo copays for patients, Stroud said. Or it could create a billing system in which transported patients are responsible for copays for services not paid for by insurance.
The city’s goal will be not to charge copays for residents, but their insurance would be billed, City Manager Patrick Duhaney said at the meeting.
If the billing program is not approved, residents could face higher taxes to cover the department’s growing costs, Duhaney said.
The City Council will vote on a resolution to prepare for an ambulance billing system on Dec. 10 . The final approval would come during the budget approval process next spring, according to Duhaney.
“We’re just asking to start gathering all the paperwork,” he said.
Last year, units in the city’s volunteer-based EMS system were dispatched to 54,000 calls for service, averaging 149 calls per day. Over the last four years, approximately 70% of EMS responses resulted in patient transport to the hospital, according to the study, which was commissioned by the Virginia Beach Volunteer Rescue Squads, Inc., known as the Rescue Council.
Each of the city’s 10 rescue squads support “compassionate billing,” a practice that could include not charging for ambulance services when the user cannot pay and reducing or eliminating copays for insured residents, according to the Rescue Council.
The report notes that private insurance plans tend to cover at least 80% cost for ambulance transport. Under that scenario, if the city charged $1,000 for advanced life support transport, a private insurance plan would cover $800 and a patient’s copay would be $200. But caps limit what can be charged to Medicaid and Medicare patients. The cap for Medicare patients is $687 and the cap for Medicaid is $280, according to the report.
No patients would ever be denied services, and there would be no charge for emergency medical care if a patient is not transported by an ambulance, the EMS chief said.
Life-saving equipment has become more expensive and raising funds has been a challenge for the city’s emergency services programs.
This month, EMS was short on funds to purchase five new ambulances. The City Council approved $2.5 million in interest-free loans to four of the city’s rescue squads for the vehicles with provisions for forgiveness if no new source of revenue is identified.
“Money is being left on the table that could help fund this necessary life-threatening need that we’ve got to fill,” said Councilwoman Rosemary Wilson.
Councilwoman Barbara Henley said she’s concerned that a billing system could deter people from calling for an ambulance, but Stroud said that has not been an issue in other cities that charge a fee.
“When people need an ambulance, they call,” he said.
Regional Ambulance Fees
Chesapeake : $495-$750; mileage $11
Hampton : $500-$750; mileage $11
Newport News : $500-$750; mileage $11
Norfolk : $505-$850; mileage $11
Portsmouth : $465-$798; mileage $9
Suffolk : $425-$825; mileage $10
Note: Fee range is based on level of life support.
Source: EMS Cost Recovery Research & Feasibility Study 2024
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