By EMS1 Staff
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida’s health advisory board is on a mission to eliminate the practice of “balance billing” by EMS agencies.
Palm Beach Post reported that the board wrote a letter to state insurance commissioner David Altmaier about their findings, saying emergency consumers “are not able to make an informed decision or negotiate at arm’s length about the cost of the transport.”
The advisory board suggested that legislators limit the amount that consumers can be charged in situations where they are not realistically able to choose a provider.
A spokesperson for Altmaier said he “generally supports a prohibition on balance billing because the practice can bring harm to consumers.”
EMS officials said the high costs are due to insurers not paying enough, and they also warn that cutting balance billing could lead to higher taxes or decreased service.
“If you don’t have balance billing, then you’re asking the taxpayers … to pick up the difference,” Stuart Fire Rescue Chief David Dyal said.