A. An ambulance user fee is established for a person transported by the Fire Department to a hospital. The fee shall be in an amount fixed from time to time by resolution of the Village Council for basic life support ambulance service or for advanced life support ambulance service, as the case may be. For the purposes of this section, "basic life support ambulance service" means an emergency procedure that consists of the recognition and treatment of injuries and ailments without the use of advanced medical instruments or supplies; and "advanced life support ambulance service" means an emergency life saving procedure that consists of the use of advanced medical instruments or supplies, cardiac monitoring, defibrillation, the maintenance of an intravenous life line, or the infusion of appropriate medications. Such fees shall be paid in the following manner:
1. Every person transported by ambulance who has in force at the time of service any form of insurance that provides coverage for ambulance service, including Medicare, Medicaid, private or self-insured program, shall be, for the purpose of this section, the insured;
2. Any insured, by accepting the ambulance service provided, shall assign to the Village, and the Village shall become subrogated to all rights to any insurance authorizing payment for ambulance service;
3. Every insured transported by ambulance, or the spouse or representative of the insured, or the insured's parent or legal guardian if the insured is a minor, shall provide all information necessary to present a claim on behalf of the Village and shall authorize the release of such information by any hospital or physician to whom the insured is delivered;
4. The Village shall file whatever claim may be necessary to obtain payment from the insurance source. It shall be the policy of the Village:
a. In the event that the insurer requires an assignment accepting the amount of the fee authorized by that insurer, the Village is authorized to agree to such assignment and any amount remaining unpaid of the user fee will be received in the manner set forth in Section 2.52.040(A)(5).
b. If the terms of the coverage available in the insured provide a fixed fee less than the established ambulance user fee, or if the insurer, by the terms of the agreement with the insured, or, as a consequence of any law or regulation, is required to pay only a percentage of the fee, then any amount remaining unpaid of the user fee will be recovered in the manner set forth in Section 2.52.040(A)(5).
c. The obligation set forth in Section 2.52.040(A)(5) shall be in excess of any primary, secondary or supplemental insurance covering the person for whom the ambulance service is provided. The Village shall file claims on behalf of the insured with the primary insurer or any secondary or supplemental insurance provider.
5. The Village shall provide in its annual budget, appropriation ordinance and tax levy ordinance for an account against which a charge shall be made for all user fees, in whole or in part, that remain unpaid after applying all available underlying insurance.
B. The Village shall, upon request, provide an insured with the documentation of any claim or payment.
(Ord. MC-228-99 § 3 (part), 1999: prior code § 5.04)