(a) Fees.
(1) Any person that is transported to a medical facility by the emergency medical service of the City shall pay a utilization charge of six hundred dollars ($600.00) for a basic life support transport; seven hundred dollars ($700.00) for advance life support transport; or eight hundred dollars ($800.00) for advance life support II transport. In either case, a fourteen dollar ($14.00) per mile transportation fee will be assessed in addition.
(2) The Mayor may enter into an agreement on behalf of the City to engage the services of a billing and collection company which shall sumbit claims on behalf of the City to private insurers and/or the federal health care program of Medicare and Medicaid and shall issue bills to persons using emergency medical services for such amounts not covered by insurance only to the extent provided herein. Each person who uses emergency medical services provided by the City shall assign any insurance proceeds available to such person to the City. The City shall not issue bills to persons using emergency medical services who are residents of or income taxpayers employed in the City for any applicable co-payment or deductibles otherwise due to the City and shall treat income and/or property tax revenues received from such persons as satisfaction and payment of such co-payments or deductibles. The City is authorized to bill and collect from all other individuals such amounts as are not covered by insurance or Medicare or Medicaid.
(3) The Mayor or his designee may waive the aforesaid fee or a portion thereof, where it is found and determined the person receiving emergency medical services is unable to pay for such services, and there is no other source for payment. The City shall establish a financial assistance policy regarding ambulance transport and billing.
(b) Service. Emergency medical service and ambulance transportation shall be provided by the City to the extent that manpower and equipment are available and capable of providing emergency medical service or ambulance transportation. Such service shall be provided by the City in response to a call for such service or ambulance transportation within the City, and outside the City under provisions of a mutual aid agreement or applicable law governing mutual aid.
(c) Hospitals. The senior Paramedic of the responding ambulance shall determine to which hospital the person shall be transported. Said determination shall be made based on a medical evaluation of the person transported, with the best interest of the person's health and medical stability as a guide. Southwest General Health Center is the primary source of the Olmsted Falls emergency medical services medical direction and restocking supply center. St. John West Shore Hospital and Fairview General Hospital are alternatives when needed in the best interest of patient care.
(d) Deposit of Fees. All fees collected pursuant to this section shall be deposited in the General Fund.
(e) The Mayor is hereby authorized to enter into a contract for the billing of Emergency Medical Service with a billing agency. .
(Ord. 09-2013. Passed 4-23-13; Ord. 03-2020. Passed 1-14-20.)