The Plymouth Common Council was presented with an ordinance amending the city code regarding the Plymouth Community Ambulance Service on first reading during their last regular meeting. This ordinance will not be approved or denied until the next meeting which is scheduled for tonight at 6:30 p.m.
According to the ordinance, city administration, in consultation with the city’s medical billing consultant – the AccuMed Group – conducted a review of the rates and charges assessed for the work of the Plymouth Community Ambulance Service.
Those rates have not been adjusted since 2020.
The ordinance recommends an increase in rates and charges to reflect the actual cost of providing ambulance service to the community.
If approved the following rates and charges will apply:
Basic Life Support (Refusal of Transport) will cost residents $150 and non-residents $200.
Basic Life Support will cost residents $600 and $19 per loaded mile and non-residents $700 and $19 per loaded mile.
Advanced Life Support will cost residents $700 and $19 per loaded mile and non-residents $850 and $19 per loaded mile.
Advanced Life Support 2 will cost residents $1,000 and $19 per loaded mile and non-residents $1,200 and $19 per loaded mile.
The Plymouth Community Ambulance Service is authorized to charge other ambulance services for paramedic assist services on an ambulance run at the following rates and categories of rates: Advanced Life Support – $225, Advanced Life Support 2 – $275.
Levels of service are defined as follows:
Basic Life Support (BLS) is defined as that level of emergency medical service provided by an EMT-Basic, as specified by Indiana and local protocols.
Advanced Life Support (ALS) is defined as that level of emergency medical service which includes an ALS assessment or provision of at least 1 ALS intervention. An ALS assessment must be performed by an ALS crew and result in the determination that the patient’s condition requires an ALS level of care, even if no other ALS intervention is performed. ALS assessments will be recognized only in emergency situations.
Advanced Life Support 2 (ALS 2) is defined as the level of emergency medical service that includes the administration of at least three medications or the provision of at least one of the following procedures: manual defib / cardioversion, endotracheal intubation, central venous line, cardiac pacing, chest decompression, surgical airway, intraosseous line. Medications must be administered by intravenous push / bolus or by continuous infusion. The “three medication” rule does not include oxygen, aspiring, or 0.9% normal saline. The “three medication” rule does include three administrations of the same qualifying medication.
The Plymouth Community Ambulance Service will not charge Medicaid patients more than the Medicaid Fee Schedule. The Medicaid Fee schedule is amended from Tim to time.
The ordinance will become effective if passed at the next meeting.
