Pittsylvania County residents to get chance to weigh in on proposed ambulance billing

CHATHAM — The proposal for a county billing system to charge patients for medical transport will be heard at a public hearing next month.

The Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously during its regular meeting Monday night to bring the idea before residents. The vote came after the Fire and Rescue Policy and Procedures Committee decided during a separate meeting Monday evening to take the matter to the board of supervisors. 

Representatives from fire and rescue squads across Pittsylvania County expressed concerns about the proposed countywide ambulance-billing system during the committee meeting.

But at the meeting’s start, committee chairman Fred Ingram said the county has talked about a fee-for-service system for too long without taking action. The time for billing individuals, insurance companies and Medicare/Medicaid for hospital transport is now, Ingram said. 

“We’ve been going over this for eight years now,” Ingram said. “I would like to present it to the Board of Supervisors tonight.”

Dan River Supervisor James Snead and fire-and-rescue officials said they support the idea, but expressed misgivings. If the ordinance passes, not all of the county’s rescue agencies would participate, Snead said.

“It will not be countywide,” Snead said, adding that non-participating squads should not be penalized. Snead said he did not agree with establishing the system in a piecemeal fashion.

The county has 14 emergency medical providers, including the rescue squads in Altavista and Danville. The county also pays Regional One EMS — which bills its patients — $70,000 a year to provide backup service.

The proposed county ordinance would establish a countywide billing system for ambulance service and a back-up service. Revenues from billing would go into an enterprise fund in the county treasury. The money would pay for the backup emergency service and equipment for rescue squads. Some of the squads may not participate; Chatham and Gretna already bill on their own.

Mike Neal, chief of Ringgold Fire & Rescue, said he was concerned about the county considering a backup system when no one knows how much it would cost. Also, Neal said he had a problem with Chatham and Gretna not participating. Chatham’s and Gretna’s rescue squads have high percentages of missed calls and they would benefit from the backup system while other squads with fewer missed calls would “bust (their) tails” and cover backup systems for the two squads, he said.

Kermit King, from Callands Fire & Rescue, said no one opposes the billing idea, but more specifics need to be outlined.

“A lot of the details haven’t been worked out yet,” King said.

Larry Strader, chief of Laurel Grove Fire & Rescue, said volunteering is “about gone” and the county needs to move forward with county billing.

“If we as a group don’t go with this, we’ll be sitting here another eight years,” Strader said.

Neal said the change would affect donations and since the majority of the providers are fire-and-rescue agencies, fire departments would also be impacted.

Hank Davis, who serves on the Fire/Rescue Advisory Board, said if the ordinance passes, it will not be binding.

“This is just the ordinance,” Davis said. “It only says we can do it.”

If the 12 remaining rescue providers don’t sign on to the idea, it will not be implemented, Davis said.