Muncie raises EMS fees, but department says most patients won’t see increase directly
The City of Muncie has increased its fees for emergency medical services for the first time since 2019. But, as IPR’s Stephanie Wiechmann reports, most patients of the service won’t see the changes directly.
Audio Transcript
Most people transported by ambulance in Muncie pay by insurance, and those companies have contracts for rates. Muncie Fire Chief Dan Burford says patients who will see these increases will have out-of-network and out-of-contract private insurance coverage or be uninsured. He says that’s 2 percent of patients transported by Muncie EMS.
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Burford also says the costs of buying and equipping ambulances have “skyrocketed” since the last fee table was passed in 2019, when Muncie split from Delaware County to provide its own EMS service.
“Well, in 2019, the ambulances that we now buy – which are not luxury ambulances – were $120,000. They’re $260,000 now. With no equipment, nothing on them whatsoever.”
Fee increases include the price for basic life support services – rising from $550 inside city limits to $1600. And the price you pay per mile the ambulance has to drive you will raise from $15 to $30. Burford says the average mileage for a call is 2.2 miles.
Council members who voted no on the increases said they were worried about uninsured or underinsured people. According to KFF Health News, recent changes to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act could see up to 250,000 Hoosiers lose health insurance coverage.
Burford says the rates are very close to those charged by Delaware County EMS. He says he realistically expects it to net an extra $150,000 a year for the department.
Jason Chafin is president of Muncie Firefighters Local 1348. He says while the last fee ordinance was passed in 2019, those numbers were copied from a Delaware County ordinance in 2014, so the rates are a decade old.
The ordinance passed Monday night includes a clause that gives a large discount for those people who pay the bill themselves, without insurance involvement. Burford says that’s about five percent of patients. The ordinance also lets Muncie’s fire chief cancel bills if someone requests it in writing.
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Democrats on the city council asked to table the ordinance to get more information on why increased prices were needed. That vote failed and the ordinance was passed with the help of the council’s new Republican majority – after council members Brandon Garrett and Jerry Dishman recently switched from being Democrats to Republicans.
Stephanie Wiechmann is our Managing Editor and “All Things Considered” Host. Contact her at slwiechmann@bsu.edu.
