This article is a re-post from the Town of Cape Elizabeth’s website, www.capeelizabeth.com
Rescue fees will increase in Cape Elizabeth beginning May 1, 2019.
The Town Council on April 8 approved the increase for basic and advanced life-support transport, as well as the mileage reimbursement, to better match fees charged in nearby communities.
Fees for basic life support will go from $600 to $700 a call; advanced life support from $900 to $1,000; and advanced life support 2, which requires a greater level of specialized care, from $900 to $1,200. Mileage rate will go from $14 to $18.
It’s the first time rates have been revised since 2015, when the town also went to a flat billing system for transport calls, rather than charging for specific services provided.
“We’ve looked at the comparison rates for eight different services and we were towards the low end, so we are recommending the increases that are outlined,” said Fire Chief Peter Gleeson.
Among six comparison communities, rates for advanced life-support transport ranged from a low of $985 to a high of $2,100, with two charging $1,000 and two charging $1,800, said Town Manager Matthew Sturgis. “So at $1,000 on an ALS run we’re pretty much catching up with the other communities that were in the study,” he said.
Seventy to 75 percent of rescue calls are for advanced life support, Gleeson said, requiring IVs, EKGs or some other service beyond the basic blood pressure, pulse or oxygen-level measurement. “The thing that’s different now is with the per-diem program, almost every one of our transports involves an ALS provider, so we’re doing more ALS treatments that we used to do.”
And, while Gleeson characterized Cape Elizabeth’s 40 percent collection rate as good, payment rates from Medicare, MaineCare and Blue Cross are fixed below those charged and constitute 70 percent of rescue responses.
Projected revenue from the increases are not included in the proposed 2019-20 budget. Revenues from fees make up about two-third of the rescue fund budget, with the rest subsidized by taxes, Gleeson said.
Gleeson added that the department will likely review rates annually to be sure they compare with those charged in other communities.
