When it comes to a life threatening situation, every minute, every second counts.  However, those wait times are getting longer. One main reason is money.

“We are not funded by anything besides the insurance checks we get, so we do third party billing and that’s how the service runs,” says Ira Hart, the manager for the West End Ambulance Service.

Before ambulance services all over our region even step out the door, they lose money.  According to Hart, some of the state programs reimburse the services a maximum of $220.  Each trip is approximately $600. 

“If the insurance company doesn’t pay 100 percent, then we have to bill the patient and sometimes the patients don’t pay and sometimes they do,” Tina Walter, the Southern Cove EMS director adds.

Sometimes the insurance companies don’t pay either. For most calls the Southern Cove EMS service says they get reimbursed 80 percent. If the insurance company believes that you didn’t need an ambulance, then the service won’t be reimbursed at all.

“If somebody calls us, they want transported to the hospital, we have to transport them in,” says Hart.

“We are turning our paramedics and EMTs into claim adjusters because of the documentation they do.  We submit it and if the insurance company rejects it we are not going to get paid for it no matter what we do” says Cambria Alliance Ambulance manager James Effinger.

To help with the budget, the West End Ambulance Service takes patients to Pittsburgh hospitals. Hart says these non-emergency transports help to offset operating costs, “The money is better when you do a non-emergency transport. We’re guaranteed payment on those.”

To stay afloat the various departments agree planning is essential. Memberships and fundraisers help to supply the $180,000 invested into one ambulance along with its equipment.

“As far as EMS grants, there are few and far between out there and we’re all very aggressive in trying to secure that money,” Hart explains.

Several services and managers, like Effinger, are left wondering what is the long-term solution, “Are we going to still be able to cover the areas we cover now? Yes we can, but if we don’t take a look at this down the road, we’re looking at upwards of a quarter million dollar deficit an we’re not going to be here then.”

It’s tough for various companies in our region. Some have already merged. They fear if the proper funds are not received, more services will become regional, which means a longer wait time during a life-threatening situation.

“Before we had an ambulance company it was at least 30-45 minutes until we had an ambulance out here,” says Walter.  “If there is someone in cardiac arrest or someone out here bleeding, that was a long time to wait.”

The companies agree that their employees deserve to be paid better, but they say they just cannot afford it.