The Delmar Ambulance Corps made a presentation during the Wednesday, Sept. 24, Bethlehem Town Board meeting about changes to its billing for ambulance services.
The public is invited to attend an official presentation of the proposal at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct 1, at Town Hall. In order to keep the town’s ambulance tax down, the ambulance corps wants to begin billing individual insurance companies in order to generate additional revenues to help cope with a growing community.
Those uninsured will be billed, but no collection agencies will be involved if payment cannot be made. No town resident will ever be denied ambulance care based on their insurance situation, according to Delmar Ambulance Corps.
During the presentation it was noted that the town’s ambulance corps receive 3,500 calls a year and that the number of calls increase between 10 percent and 15 percent each year. Because of the increased demand and the fact that volunteers usually work during the day, the town has had to begin hiring professional EMTs during the daytime, which in return has added hundreds of thousands a year to emergency medical services expenditures.
The plan is to have a private biller, not a collection agency, send out bills to insurance companies and residents. Whatever payment received by the billing company will be considered payment in full, according to the plan.
Residents interested in hearing the presentation are encouraged to attend the Wednesday, Sept. 24, 7 p.m. meeting at Town Hall.
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