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Did You Know It Costs FDNY $120 Million/Year For Uninsured Ambulance Services?
By
Jen Chung
Published Mar 10, 2012
Modified Mar 10, 2012
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By
Jen Chung
Published Mar 10, 2012
Modified Mar 10, 2012
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The Post reported on an interesting statistic: "The FDNY is writing off $120 million in EMS ambulance services provided each year to uninsured patients, a top official yesterday told the City Council." Assistant FDNY Commissioner Steve Rush explained, "If a person doesn’t have insurance, in most cases they do not pay."
He further explained that even though the FDNY offers uninsured patients a reduced charge, it's rarely paid, and no collection agencies are interested in trying to collect that debt. The Post adds, "The unpaid ambulance bills represent 32 percent of the $380 million that it costs taxpayers annually to run the fleet of ambulances." Remember when the FDNY wanted to charge for responding to accidents: $490 to respond to a crash or car fire involving injuries, $415 for a car fire without injuries and $365 for a basic crash without injuries? That was squashed last year.
Tagged
ambulance
ambulance fee
ambulance services
crash tax
fdny
uninsured
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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