Ambulance

CLEVELAND — For years, billing rates for Cleveland EMS ambulance services have lagged far below what other cities charge and below what insurers are willing to ...

“We’re leaving money on the table.” The city’s price tag for staffing, along with everything else it needs to deliver EMS services, is expected to be around $35 million in 2022. “Our intention is not to have grandma paying out of pocket for an ambulance ride,” Sommerfelt said. But notably, Cleveland’s rates for at least two types of ambulance service also fall below the rates that Medicare is willing to pay. Polensek blamed another factor – the costs of training – as a contributor. Cleveland is “missing out the most” when it comes to privately-insured patients, city Controller Jim Gentile said during 2022 budget hearings. They pointed to Cleveland’s standing “soft-billing” practices, in which a patient’s balance is forgiven after insurers pay their portion. EMS rate increases would impact uninsured and privately insured patients the most, the Finance Department’s analysis said. Slife hopes to introduce and pass legislation this year that would put the rates more in line with industry standards. It’s unclear why Cleveland hasn’t raised ambulance rates since the early 2000s. Cleveland’s base rate for an ambulance run ranges from $350 to $500 and has been in place since around 2004. The result: Cleveland EMS isn’t coming close to recouping its rising costs for medication, supplies, salaries, fuel and ambulances.