When someone calls 911, they expect an ambulance to arrive quickly. But across Pennsylvania, that expectation is increasingly at risk as more emergency medical services agencies shut down due to financial strain.

According to Plum EMS Director of Operations Brian Maloney, every time an ambulance responds to a call, it costs the agency about $850 just to get out the door.

“Over the past 20 years, we’ve been in crisis,” Maloney said, “but now we are literally falling apart.”

The problem isn’t just the high cost, it’s the lack of reimbursement. In some cases, with commercial insurance companies, they will send payment directly to the patient instead of the EMS provider, and that money doesn’t always make it back to the agency.

“In my community, 38 percent of those checks were kept by the patient,” Maloney said. “In three years, Plum EMS, which is a small organization, lost a quarter of a million dollars.”

Pennsylvania has lost 52 EMS agencies in just the last two years. The risk for more is always there.

State Rep. Jill Cooper, R-Westmoreland County, is leading a bipartisan effort to change that. Her proposal, House Bill 1152, would require commercial insurance companies to directly reimburse EMS agencies for 911 calls they respond to.

“I feel an obligation to the seniors and people in my district,” Cooper said. “When they call and expect an ambulance in 8 to 10 minutes, they should get one, in order to save their life.”

EMS services in Pennsylvania do not receive tax dollars for operations, so timely reimbursement is vital. Maloney told Channel 11 that no agency wants to have to go after a patient to get a bill paid.

Supporters of the bill said it would only increase insurance premiums by around $10 but could make a major difference in keeping EMS agencies open.

“It’s causing EMS companies to go out of business,” Maloney said. “Just getting an ambulance ready to go costs money, and they’re losing it every time they respond. This bill is one step toward solving that problem.”

House Bill 1152 has nearly 50 cosponsors and is currently in committee, awaiting a vote.

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