By Shayla Escudero
Corvallis Gazette-Times
ALBANY, Ore. — That emergency trip to the hospital is about to cost more — an average of $646 more to be exact.
The Albany City Council this week unanimously approved an over 30% increase for the base rate of an ambulance ride and the first 3 miles of transport. That means an emergency trip will go from $1,650 to $2,296.
The city of Albany will charge more for ambulance service starting Jan. 1, after the City Council approved rate increases on Wednesday.
The change was prompted by service growth and inflation, according to Albany Fire Chief Chris LaBelle.
The Fire Department has seen rising costs for equipment, medication and personnel, he said. Inflation has been 25.7% since 2019, when costs were last adjusted, according to the staff memo as part of the Wednesday, Nov. 20 council packet.
“The ambulance service base rate and some associated fees were last increased in January 2019. Since that time, the Fire Department’s call volume has gone up 15%,” the staff report reads.
By Jan. 1, four rates will increase with the base rate set at $2,296; patients on Medicare or Medicaid will pay $455 of that cost.
“Last fiscal year the Fire Department invoiced over $11.1 million for ambulance service and wrote off more than $6.8 million, primarily due to the high volume of Medicare and Medicaid patients,” according to the staff report.
Other rate increases will be seen in the mileage which has increased from $20 to $32. Aid calls will increase from $630 to $750.
A new fee was also added, called wall time, billed to facilities, not patients. The wall time accounts for extended wait times when transferring patients to a hospital or ER facility.
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