Pa. Ambulance Company`s Future In Doubt

Nov. 12--CRESSON -- Without additional revenue or changes in government and insurance company payment structures, Cambria Alliance Emergency Medical Services Inc. will not survive another three years, municipal leaders were told this week.

"We are physically and financially well right now, but we are looking ahead," Cambria Alliance EMS board member Tom McConnell Jr. told about a dozen township and borough officials meeting at St. Aloysius Hall in Cresson on Tuesday.

Ambulance services are often at the mercy of reimbursement rates set by health insurance companies or government payers, such as Medicaid and Medicare, office manager Marian Slebodnick said.

Medicaid payments have not gone up since 1985 and don't cover the cost of taking the ambulance and crew out of the garage, board member Jay Smithmyer said.

"Every time we go out, we lose $200 to $300," Smithmyer said. "It's ironic, but the more rides we make, the more money we lose.

"A lot of other ambulance services -- a lot of our neighbors -- are in the same boat we are."

Many people have taken high-deductible insurance to reduce their premiums. Often the deductibles hit the ambulance service before the hospitals and doctors, Slebodnick said.

"How many times have you gone into gone into your doctor and had to pay the copay before you even see the doctor?" she asked. "We are an ambulance service. We don't have that option."

Some trips do not qualify for insurance because companies say they are not medically necessary.

A few insurance companies send the ambulance payment to the patient, with instructions that they pay the service directly. Collections can be difficult and expensive, the leaders said.

"We can't collect from the government, and we can't collect from the insurance companies," Smithmyer said.

"We are at their mercy."

Costs are also increasing. A shortage of qualified paramedics has driven up wages across the emergency services field.

"There is a paramedic shortage out there that dwarfs the nursing shortage we have been hearing about for a long time," Cambria Alliance Commander James Effinger said.

"It is many different things," Smithmyer said.

"It is not just one thing we can correct."

Tuesday's meeting was the second called with municipal officials to discuss the issues and brainstorm suggestions. Cambria Alliance leaders have suggested assessing $50 for each household in the ambulance service's 15-municipality coverage area.

But the nonprofit has no authority to require payment.

Some municipalities already support volunteer fire companies, so the ambulance service would like the township and borough officials to consider a similar arrangement.

Other suggestions included publicizing the ambulance service's plight and mounting a membership drive. Currently only about one in four households are Cambria Alliance EMS members.

There were no decisions on Tuesday, but leaders agreed to work together, explore options and meet again.

"We knew going into this that it's a long process," Effinger said. "Education is a big part of it, and patience is a big part of it.

"We can get help in different ways, but it's going to take time."

Randy Griffith is a reporter with the Tribune-Democrat. Follow him on Twitter @photogriffer57.

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