Getting Sick in NYC Will Cost Big $$$ as FDNY Has Proposed a 54% Price Hike for Ambulance Rides

Edited by: TJVNews.com

Talk about getting that awful queasy feeling in one’s stomach. Now, it appears that there is good reason to be experiencing this unpleasant vibe. If you are a New York City resident and if you need an ambulance to transport you, a family member or just about anyone else to a hospital for an illness or in the event of a serious accident, the tab for such a trip will now be significantly higher, according to a report in the New York Post.

The FDNY has proposed hiking up the price of ambulance rides by more than 50% — an increase the department says is necessary due to inflation and a pay bump for EMS workers, the Post reported on Wednesday.

Currently, if one calls 911 and Emergency Medical Service workers believe that a hospital visit is necessary, the price for a ride to a hospital would run about $900. The Post reported that under the FDNY proposal that was released on Tuesday, the price of a normal ambulance ride would see a 54% increase, making the total $1,385.

Also, the current price per mile for a trip to the hospital in an FDNY ambulance is $15. With the new proposal, the charge per mile would be $20, the Post reported.

Smaller increases would be seen in the costs for advanced life support emergency transports, which have more highly-trained paramedics who can perform advanced procedures such as intubating a patient or inserting an IV, the Post report indicated.

The Post reported that the FDNY’s notice states that, “the proposed rates in part reflect increases (including recent EMS collective bargaining increases and inflation) in personal services (PS) costs and other than personal services (OTPS) costs required to provide emergency ambulance service.”

A spokesperson for the FDNY told the Post that the new rate is expected to create more than $4 million in additional revenue during this fiscal year, and over $16 million for the full 2024 fiscal year.

The spokesperson also told the Post that if the FDNY proposal is approved, the price hikes would take effect in the spring of this year. The last increase was in 2021. Back then, the price for an ambulance ride ticked up 16% from $775 to $900, the Post reported.

The fire department’s ambulance service, which costs roughly $600 million per year, handles about 70% of the city’s hospital transports.

Speaking to the Post, Oren Barzilay, president of EMS Local 2507, said it was “a bit offensive” that the FDNY was citing raises for EMTs as a contributing factor in the proposed increased ambulance cost.

Barzilay told the Post on Wednesday that, “our raises were minuscule compared to what other first responders got,” referring to the $4,000 increase that raised the starting salary for an FDNY EMT to $39,386 in fiscal year 2022.

Barzilay add that, “FDNY EMS mainly serves communities of people of color. For us to now pass this increase to the public, especially during times when inflation is so high and everything is so expensive, it shows no regard for what the average person is going through. God forbid you get injured or are the victim of an accident and now you get left with this bill.”

Some discounts are offered for people without insurance who are transported by city ambulance to the hospital. The city program is based on the person’s income level, the Post reported. Staten Island Councilman Joe Borelli countered: “unfortunately, the fees have to keep up with inflation,” the report stated.