Village EMS Department to begin billing

Starting soon, squad calls, other than to the Town of Tioga contract area, will have a price tag, according to Mike Baratta, Village of Owego mayor.

In a press release, Baratta explained that the Village Board has taken the steps needed to bill for EMS Department transport to a hospital. The bequest, which for over ten years has paid the salaries and benefits of the daytime medics, has run out, and the board elected to not increase property taxes to cover the cost. 

“The Village is fortunate in having dedicated volunteers that supplement the daytime medics and provide the same timely, high-quality emergency medical service during evenings and weekends,” said Baratta in the release, adding, “Without them, even with billing, a Village based ambulance service most likely would not be affordable.”

In Village Board meetings in February and April, various resolutions were passed that separated the Emergency Squad from the Village Fire Department by forming a Village EMS Department. This was a key legal step because New York State Law does not permit an all-volunteer fire department to bill for services. 

During this time the members of the all-volunteer Owego Fire Department Emergency Squad reorganized as a not-for-profit corporation, the Owego Emergency Squad (OES), Inc. 

OES, Inc. is recognized by the Village as the provider for volunteer staffing of the Village EMS Department. In May and June among additional Village Board actions, a billing agent for the Village was sought and placed under contract. Subsequently, several Board members, the paid EMS staff, and the OES, Inc. membership have received training in the nuances of ambulance service billing.  

In addition to more record keeping, EMS providers will now ask patients to sign a release to permit direct billing of, and payment from, insurance carriers, which include commercial health insurance companies as well as Medicare and Medicaid.  

A start date for the new billing has not been set yet.