Scott County Commission raises ambulance rates to match Morgan County
HUNTSVILLE | The Scott County Ambulance Service’s rates will increase match those of neighboring Morgan County to the south, following action taken by Scott County Commission at its monthly meeting on Monday.
By an all-aye vote with 13 of 14 commissioners present, the Commission voted to adopt an EMS rate increase to bring the local ambulance service rates in line with those that are in place in Morgan County.
The increase will be fairly substantial; a rate survey presented to County Commission at Monday’s meeting indicated that rates in Scott County were significantly lower than in other counties. The increase adopted by the Commission will allow Scott County’s rates to match those in Morgan County. The local rates will still be lower than the EMS rates in Anderson County, and higher than the rates in Roane County.
Under the new rate schedule:
The mileage fee will increase from $13.33 to $26 for both basic life support (BLS) and advanced life support (ALS).
A BLS non-emergency call will increase from $488.26 to $825.
A BLS emergency call will increase from $484.96 to $1,250.
An ALS non-emergency call will increase from $655.48 to $950.
An ALS emergent call will increase from $737.72 to $1,500.
An ALS level II call will increase from $890.06 to $2,150.
A specialty care call will increase from $987.97 to $2,550.
The response fee will increase from $125 to $250.
Scott County’s new rates will remain lower than Anderson County’s according to the rate survey. Anderson County’s mileage fee is $28.13, while BLS calls are $843.92 for non-emergency and $1,289.47 for emergency, ALS calls are $966.47 for non-emergency, $1,531.24 for emergent and $2,216.31 for level II, and specialty care calls are $2,672.71.
Despite the rate increase, the Scott County Ambulance Service isn’t expected to generate significant new revenue. The rates will apply only to commercial insurers, meaning patients who have commercial plans. Medicare and Medicaid, or Tenncare, set their own rates that ambulance services must accept.
Jamie Byrd, Scott County EMS director, said that nearly 90% of the calls his EMTs and paramedics answer involve Medicare or Medicaid patients.
The ambulance service rate change was the only major agenda item during the otherwise routine and short meeting. It was a far cry from County Commission’s May meeting, when concerned citizens crowded the conference room and spilled into the hallway of the Scott County Office Building to speak their minds on a new privately-owned landfill that has been proposed at Bear Creek in Oneida. At a special called meeting two weeks later, commissioners voted unanimously to adopt the Jackson Law that gives local governments more control over privately-owned landfills.
In other business at this week’s meeting, the commissioners approved a road block for Pine Hill Volunteer Fire Department on June 28 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.; approved contract amendments for inmates at the Scott County Jail and at the Scott County Juvenile Detention Center, and heard from Scott County Director of Schools Bill Hall and Scott County Road Superintendent Kelvin King.
King told commissioners that he hopes to hear “something good” from Norfolk-Southern on the design of a new bridge on Niggs Creek Road at High Point by June 30. Because the bridge is a railroad overpass, the railroad’s approval is required. The Road Department recently submitted the final design to the railroad and can apply for state funding from the TN Dept. of Transportation once the railroad signs off on those plans. The design of a new bridge over Pine Creek on O&W Road has already been approved, and will go to bid on July 14. King said he’s hopeful that construction will begin in September.
Commissioners will meet in a special session on June 23 for the purpose of adopting the budget and property tax rate for fiscal year 2024-2025. The Budget Committee has recommended a budget that includes no tax increase.