§ 9-16. Ambulance/medical user fee—Established.

(a)

The following user fee schedule shall be charged for all ambulance/medical services provided by the City through its paramedic branch of the Fire Department:

	Type of Service Provided	Resident	Nonresident
(1)	Basic Life Support (BLS Nonemergency)	$322.19	$428.51
(2)	Basic Life Support—(BLS Emergency)	515.49	685.60
(3)	Advanced Life Support—(ALS Nonemergency)	386.63	514.2
(4)	Advanced Life Support—Emergency (ALS-1 Emergency)	612.15	814.16
(5)	Advanced Life Support—(ALS-2 Emergency)	886.01	1,178.39
(6)	Mileage, Basic (Within City Limits) (per patient miles, minimum one (1) mile)	12.66	12.66
(7)	Mileage, Rural (per patient miles, minimum one (1) mile)	19.16	19.16
(8)	Nontransport Medical Calls	150.00	200.00
(9)	Specialized Care (AO 434)	1,047.09	1,392.66

 

(b)

The above fees shall be charged per patient run occurrence; however, when ambulance/medical services are provided for a patient using a private ambulance, the mileage fee shall not be charged; and further provided that when more than two (2) members of an immediate family residing at the same address are transported per incident, the basic fee, mileage fee, and emergency fee shall only be billed for two (2) persons.

(c)

Non-resident : Is defined as a person whose primary residence at the time of the service is outside the corporate boundaries of the City of South Bend, Indiana.

(d)

Basic Life Support (BLS): Means transportation by ground ambulance vehicle and medically necessary supplies and services, plus the provision of BLS ambulance services. The ambulance must be staffed by an individual who is qualified in accordance with State and local laws as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) .

(e)

Advanced Life Support, Level 1 (ALS1) : Means transportation by ground ambulance vehicles, medically necessary supplies and services and either an ALS assessment by ALS personnel or the provision of at least one ALS intervention.

(f)

Advance Life Support, Level 2 (ALS2) : Means either transportation by ground ambulance vehicle, medically necessary supplies and services, and the administration of at least three (3) medications by intravenous pus/bolus or by continuous infusion excluding crystalloid, hypotonic, isotonic, and hypertonic solutions (Dextrose, Normal Saline, Ringer's Lactate); or transportation, medically necessary supplies and services, and the provision of at least one (1) of the following:

(1)

Manual defibrillation/cardioversion

(2)

Endotracheal intubation

(3)

Central venous line

(4)

Cardiac pacing

(5)

Chest decompression

(6)

Surgical airway

(7)

Intraosseous line

(g)

Non-Transport Medical Calls: Means a response to a medical emergency call by ambulance vehicle and the administration of ALS skills upon or medication given to a patient who then refuses transport to the hospital.

(h)

Mileage, Rural, shall apply to vehicle runs made to areas in zones or zip codes designated as rural by Medicare and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in its Medicare regulations.

(i)

The above fees shall take effect on August 1, 2016.

(j)

Hereafter, and in the event Medicare or other federal or State health care regulations require or allow an adjustment to ambulance/ medical user fees, the South Bend Fire Chief is authorized to and may amend once annually the user fees set out in subpart (a) of this section by the same percentage as the Medicare Fee Schedule rates for such services have been adjusted. This adjustment shall be effective on the calendar date immediately following the date on which written notice of said fee rate adjustment is filed in the office of the City Clerk. At the time such notice is filed, a copy of the new rates shall be made available in paper form for public viewing in the South Bend Central Fire Station, and such new rates shall also be published promptly on the City's web site.

(Ord. No. 6897-81, § 1; Ord. No. 7414-84, § 1; Ord. No. 7578-85, § 1; Ord. No. 8009-89, § 1; Ord. No. 8269-92, § 1; Ord. No. 8860-97, § I; Ord. No. 9340-02, § 1; Ord. No. 9887-08, § I, 12-8-08; Ord. No. 10204-12, § I, 11-26-12; Ord. No. 10321-14, § I, 8-25-14; Ord. No. 10368-15, § I, 7-13-15; Ord. No. 10444-16 , § I, 6-27-16)

 ALS1, ALS2 and BLS definitions track the language codified in Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Chapter IV, §414.605 entitled "Fee Schedule for Ambulance Services".