By Priya Shahi
Staten Island Advance
ALBANY, N.Y. — Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a legislative package this month aimed at supporting the cost of emergency medical services (EMS) and expanding on-site treatment options for New Yorkers who have called for an emergency ambulance.
The two bills in the legislative package will allow Medicaid to cover ambulance services that treat patients on-site or take them to non-hospital facilities, while also allowing ground ambulances to store and administer blood transfusions.
Previously, EMS providers were only paid for hospital transfers, not for transporting patients to other places like urgent care, substance abuse facilities or rehabilitation centers.
“By signing the Treatment in Place bill into law, Governor Hochul is empowering EMS providers to provide patients with the care they need at the scene, or transport them to more appropriate locations like mental health clinics, substance abuse facilities, or urgent care, without being financially penalized,” NYSAC President Benjamin Boykin II said.
A YouGov poll found that 23% of Americans have chosen not to take an ambulance ride because of the potential costs.
By allowing Medicaid to reimburse ambulance services for on-site care instead of hospital transport, patients can avoid high hospital fees. The legislation package also promotes treatment at home or in nearby facilities, which reduces the need for expensive emergency room visits and lowers out-of-pocket costs for patients.
“This legislation ensures essential treatment and transportation, and allows New Yorkers to focus on their well-being during an emergency rather than worrying about the financial cost or availability of critical health care when they need it most,” Governor Hochul said.
Aidan O’Connor, executive director of the Greenport Rescue Squad, emphasized the urgency of this issue in rural areas like Greene County, where patients must be transported to Columbia or Albany counties due to the lack of local hospitals. In some parts of the Hudson Valley, transporting patients to a hospital can take an hour or more.
And in New York City, as of May 2023, the FDNY increased the cost of a basic life support ambulance ride in New York City to $1,385, up from $900, according to the New York City Fire Department.
That same year, a federal committee suggested closing the gap by capping ambulance ride costs at $100 under the No Surprises Act. Currently, these proposed changes have not been enacted into law.
President of FDNY EMS Local 2507 Oren Barzilay highlighted that the new legislation package can save lives, especially since timely blood administration is critical in emergencies.
“These bills will help EMS providers stem financial losses from handling calls where members treat patients in the field or at home without having to transport to a hospital, which may be many miles away in parts of New York,” Barzilay said. “Giving us the ability to carry whole blood on many of our ambulances and do transfusions in the field has been proven to save lives when seconds count.”
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