Castle Rock raised ambulance rates approximately 20 percent this
month because the ambulance fund is in the red, said Castle Rock
Fire and Rescue Chief Art Morales.
The base rate for an emergency ambulance ride increased 17
percent from $600 to $700 per ride, plus the costs of mileage,
supplies and biohazard disposal fees.
Mileage fees increased 30 percent, from $10 per mile to $13 per
mile. The increases bring Castle Rock fees up to the level private
ambulances charge.
For example, many patients ride 25 miles from Castle Rock to
Swedish Medical Center in Englewood, so an $800 trip now will cost
$1,025 plus supplies and disposal fees for an overall average
increase of about 30 percent.
However, with the 10-mile proximity of Castle Rock to the new
Sky Ridge Medical Center in Lone Tree – which will have its grand
opening this week – town residents’ average trip costs are expected
to be cut in half.
Morales said fees are increasing because the $1.5 million
Ambulance Enterprise Fund is $250,000-$300,000 in the red.
Ambulance finances are in a separate fund from the general fire and
rescue department budget.
Fees are also increasing because emergency calls, and therefore
people who are charged for services, are down 20 percent this year.
Emergency calls went from 159 calls in July 2002 to 125 calls by
the end of July this year.
Although calls are down, paramedics and ambulances are still
on-hand, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, Morales said. Usually,
rescue workers expect an annual 6 percent increase in calls,
Morales said.
Another reason for fee increases is that people who use
ambulances are not paying their bills, Morales said. Whereas the
agency hired by the town to collect ambulance payments used to
receive 70 percent of costs, the town now is receiving 60-66
percent of ambulance fees billed. Plus, Medicare only pays about
$300 per ambulance trip for its patients.
The town budget is in no place to make up those lost dollars,
Morales said. The collection agency charges 7 percent on
collections made.
One-third of the calls Castle Rock paramedics handle are on
Interstate 25, and the rest are elsewhere in the bedroom community.
Out of the I-25 calls, 70 percent are not from Castle Rock, Morales
estimated.
The last increase was three years ago in September
2000.
The Castle Rock Town Council recently authorized the fire chief
and the town manager to increase fees as they see fit.
A new ambulance costs $110,000 to $160,000. Morales canceled
plans to buy a new ambulance this year, stretching the truck’s
lifespan from four to five years. Paramedic/firefighters in Castle
Rock make, on average $50,000 per year.