The Burlington Select Board voted unanimously on Monday to raise the rates for a trip in a Burlington Fire Department ambulance to bring the town’s rates in line with those in nearby communities.
According to Fire Chief Andrew Connerty, the charges are a user fee that offset the cost of purchasing, maintaining and supplying the town’s ambulances. “This will not affect those on Medicare, people who are 65-plus. This is only for those that are utilizing their commercial insurance, such as Blue Cross Blue Shield or Harvard Pilgrim.”
Burlington offers three levels of ambulance service. ELS transport, the lowest level of service, is a simple ride to the hospital with no additional medical care provided. The next level of service, ALS 1, includes non-invasive procedures that EMS officers can provide, such as putting on a cardiac monitor, starting an IV or giving medications that one would normally get at the emergency room. The highest level of service, ALS 2, includes invasive procedures like intubation. The new fees for those services are $1,700, $2,300 and $3,200 respectively.
“I don’t love how much it costs for an ambulance ride, but that’s more of a wider, systemic issue beyond your scope and beyond our scope,” said Select Board Member Sarah Cawley.
“I’ve had a couple of those ambulance runs and I can’t thank you guys enough for being there,” Select Board Chair Joe Morandi told Connerty and EMS Lieutenant Michael Donoghue. “I think these rates are well deserved at this point. I think there’s a lot of stuff this town provides its residents, I think this is a very important one we do provide for our residents. I don’t think there’s any reason not to go along with this.”
“I’m looking at it as a cost of living increase. The cost of everything is going up, and this is just one example,” said member Mike Espejo.