(a) Service rendered.
(1) To defray the cost of the service, an individual who is transported to a hospital by the County ambulance service of the Fire Department shall pay an ambulance service fee of:
(i) 1. $700 for Basic Life Support or Advanced Life Support I transport; or
2. $750 for Advanced Life Support II transport; and
(ii) a fee based upon Medicare allowable amounts for each mile from the point of pick up to the health care facility.
(2) If the County ambulance service provides emergency medical response, but does not transport an individual to a hospital, the individual is not required to pay a fee.
(b) Ability to pay. The County ambulance service may not:
(1) question an individual about ability to pay the ambulance service fee at the time that ambulance transportation is requested or provided; or
(2) fail to provide ambulance transportation and emergency medical services because of an individual's actual or perceived inability to pay the ambulance service fee.
(c) Contract with hospitals. The County Executive may enter into a contract with the hospitals to which patients are transported or a private vendor to collect ambulance service fees for the County, and the contract may provide that the hospital or vendor shall be paid on the basis of a percentage of the amount of the fees collected.
(d) Rules and regulations. The Controller may adopt rules and regulations to administer the collection of the ambulance service fees, including rules and regulations governing:
(1) the waiver of the ambulance service fee in the event of financial hardship; and
(2) the acceptance of reduced payments by commercial insurers and other third-party payors, including Medicare and Medicaid.
(e) Applicability. The ambulance service fee shall apply to transports to a hospital by the ambulance service of the Fire Department on or after April 1, 2009.
(Bill No. 44-08; Bill No. 64-14)