A major issue that emergency medical services deal with is insufficient or decreasing reimbursement rates.
“The major issue is that we bill a set amount based on what it costs us to operate an ambulance service,” said David Penton, Kossuth County Emergency Management Director. “The insufficient dollars comes from the reimbursement we get. It is all negotiated rates through Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance. Normally with Medicaid or Medicare we can’t balance bills for patients. We have to accept what Medicaid and Medicare allows.”
Mark McCulloch, President of Iowa EMS Association, makes no bones about it that the reimbursement rates are too low. “It is really that simple.
For more on this story, please see the June 29 issue of Kossuth County Advance.