By Joe Smydo
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh City Controller Michael Lamb wants nonprofit groups and municipalities across Allegheny County to step up to the plate to head off a funding crisis for ambulance services.
In a new report, Mr. Lamb said many local emergency medical services are running deficits because their primary revenues are Medicare and private insurance payments that cover only about 50 percent of the cost of ambulance trips.
He said the county 911 center, subsidized with a surcharge on telephone lines, also needs help. “As the use of cell phones has increased, the resulting drop in land line usage has made the county surcharge a shrinking source of revenue,” Mr. Lamb said in the report, “Critical Condition: The EMS Crisis in Pittsburgh and Its Neighboring Communities.”
Full Story: Pittsburgh City Controller warns of EMS funding crisis