By Jeff Horseman and John F. Hill
The Press-Enterprise
RIVERSIDE COUNTY, Calif. — Riverside County supervisors this week are expected to extend American Medical Response’s near-exclusive ambulance-service contract for another three years.
But officials also plan to review the county’s ambulance and paramedic service and could open the contract to bidding by 2015. Some communities advocate a bidding process, believing it will help improve emergency medical service.
The company has had an exclusive contract to provide ambulance services since 2004. The firm’s current pact, extended in 2009, expires June 30.
Ambulance rates would not change under the extension. AMR can charge as much as $1,174 for advanced life support, although the company often recoups little to no money depending on patients’ ability to pay.
Support for a bid process has gained steam in recent months. Advocates say competition for the county ambulance contract will lead to the best care at the best price for patients.
Supervisors Jeff Stone and Bob Buster, the cities of Murrieta and Temecula, the county Fire Chiefs Association and the union representing Cal Fire/Riverside County firefighters have all expressed support for bidding.
AMR spokesman Jason Sorrick has said there’s no need for bids because the company consistently meets response-time goals outlined in its contract. The company employs nearly 800 people countywide, and AMR has spent close to $30 million since 2004 to improve ambulance service, according to Sorrick.
If supervisors OK the contract extension Tuesday, June 12, the county Emergency Medical Services Agency plans to hire a consultant for a top-to-bottom evaluation of the county’s emergency services system. The evaluation’s findings are to go to supervisors by June 30, 2014, according to a staff report.
The evaluation will lay the groundwork for putting the contract out to bid if that’s what supervisors want to do. They will have the final say on whether to ask other ambulance companies for bids or award AMR another extension past 2015.
In an email, Sorrick wrote AMR “has always supported an evaluation of the EMS system.”
“Currently AMR is the only system provider that is routinely collecting and reporting data on performance,” he wrote. “The county EMS system should always remain focused on identifying and appropriately responding to our patient’s needs - a focus on the right care at the right time; it’s not about politics, it’s about patients.”
Murrieta officials have been the most vocal in calling for bids. The City Council last week unanimously approved a resolution urging the county to seek new bids.
Murrieta Fire Chief Matt Shobert and others have said bidding would allow the county not only to get the best deal, but to make long-needed improvements to its emergency system.
Murrieta is struggling to pay for emergency services, which it provides through firefighter/paramedics. Shobert has proposed charging $350 per call, or a flat $48 annual fee, to people who use 911 for emergency medical services.
Shobert said Friday he’s glad the county wants to evaluate its emergency system. But he said he was concerned more wasn’t being done.
By the time the county’s evaluation is done, the contract would be almost over and need renewal, Shobert said. Emergency officials have said it could take up to 18 months to craft a request for proposals from prospective bidders.
County fire chiefs reluctantly supported AMR’s last contract extension on the condition the county would seek bids the next time around, Shobert said.
“Here we are in 2012 kicking the can down the street another three years,” he said.
Unlike Riverside County, San Bernardino County has already decided to seek bids for ambulance services. Last month, San Bernardino County supervisors gave AMR a two-year contract extension while laying the groundwork for competitive bidding.
Follow Jeff Horseman on Twitter: @JeffHorseman
Copyright 2012 The Press-Enterprise