Pittsburgh-area EMS chiefs push for reimbursement reform

By law, local municipalities must ensure EMS is available for their community, but they're not required to financially support it.

Now, local EMS leaders say we need to act decisively to save Pennsylvania's EMS agencies.

"Is EMS stable right now? And I think from an outside view, most people would say operationally yes, financially no. It's not a stable product," Baldwin EMS Chief Todd Plunkett said. 

In part 2 of our KDKA Investigation into ambulance billing and reimbursements, KDKA Consumer Investigator Meghan Schiller sat down with two local chiefs. At Ross/ West View EMS, they're a few years into collecting a mandatory fee from community members to pay to keep the operation afloat.

Chief Greg Porter says he needed to produce a solution to save his department.

"I'm pleased to say we are now in year three of that fee collection, and it's going extraordinarily well," Ross/ West View EMS Chief Porter said. 

But Chief Porter says many ambulance companies in Allegheny County closed their doors before finding a funding solution.

"In Allegheny County alone, when I started, there were 128 EMS agencies. We're down to 32 municipally responding EMS agencies," Chief Porter said. 

That's why he is one of many local EMS chiefs pushing to save EMS and make sure an ambulance still arrives when you call 911. They want enough trained workers to staff the stations, reimbursements that aren't laughable and some funding to help bridge the gaps.

"Unlike law enforcement or fire, we're the only public safety entity that generates some of our own revenue, which is kind of unique. So, we're not asking for 100 percent funding. We're asking for a little bit of support," Chief Porter said.

Chief Plunkett at Baldwin EMS says paramedics want a seat at the table. EMS is the only essential public safety service with no direct access to Governor Josh Shapiro.

"The police commissioner is direct report to the governor, the fire commissioner is a direct report to the governor, the PEMA director is a direct report to the governor, the EMS bureau chief, not even called a commissioner, is five levels below so doesn't even have the voice," said Chief Plunkett.

Chief Plunkett says EMS needs a reasonable and uniform reimbursement rate, with an increase in Medicare allowable reimbursements and less bill dodging by commercial health insurance plans. 

"The warnings are there, and things need to change. And the things that need to change, the solutions are there," said Chief Plunkett. "It's whether they want to fund it, whether our government and our society want EMS to be around like other organizations."

KDKA reached out to Governor Shapiro's office to ask his thoughts on where EMS falls in the upcoming budget and his thoughts on the creation of an EMS commissioner. KDKA did not hear back on Tuesday