The ambulance industry recently revealed it is at a “breaking point” in a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services, obtained by NBC News. The letter continues to warn that as cases surge during the holiday season, ambulance companies will need more aid in order to keep them afloat.
What We Know:
- Private ambulance companies, who look after about a third of the communities in the U.S., have not received coronavirus aid since April, when they were allotted $350 million in aid by the Department of Health and Human Services. This money, many companies say, ran out within week.
- Due to the ongoing pandemic, private ambulance companies are significantly losing revenue due to the overcrowding of hospitals and exceptionally high demand of healthcare workers. As hospitals and healthcare facilities are overwhelmed by Covid admissions, they are limiting or no longer admitting other medical procedures and surgeries. Therefore, ambulance companies are not getting the valuable 911 or hospital transfer calls they once received, and must also spend more money on personal protective equipment.
- To make matters worse, ambulatory companies now face paying out of pocket for emergency medical procedures that EMTs have to perform on site, rather than transporting patients to the hospital, due to new coronavirus protocols. Additionally, these costly procedures are not reimbursed by Medicare or Medicaid Services as they do not qualify for coverage since patients weren’t actually transported anywhere.
- In its letter to the Department of Health and Human Services, the American Ambulance Association urged that paramedics and EMTs who make up ambulance services across the country need $2.62 billion; about $43,500 for each of the approximately 60,000 ambulances that answer 911 calls. They suggested that the funds come from the Provider Relief Fund, a $175 billion fund created by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to support health care workers.
After praising “the ambulance people” and others in healthcare, President Trump said he “will certainly look into it” when mentioned of the ongoing crisis among ambulatory services.
