Donora votes for change in EMS service

By KRISTIE LINDEN 

klinden@yourmvi.com

Donora will switch its ambulance service from Mon Valley EMS to Rostraver West Newton EMS after concerns about response times.

Mon Valley EMS Chief Bill Hess met with Donora Council last week and explained there are several issues at play. Among them are the ways ambulance services are paid — or not paid — and a shortage of staff.

For example, Hess told Donora Council members the pandemic knocked his service’s income down by about 30% because fewer people were seeking medical assistance out of fear. This year, he said, Mon Valley EMS is still down by about 20% in terms of income. 

Hess said it costs his company $750 just to respond to a call. When it’s a Medicaid patient, the reimbursement is just 80% of it and he has to “eat the rest.” Hess said he has spent time lobbying the state Legislature to change the way things are billed and reimbursed for ambulance services.

In the eyes of the insurance industry, the ambulance service is only considered transportation and not an emergency medical service.

“We can’t get any traction,” Hess said. “We’ve gone to legislators and they’ve said they understand our plight and we haven’t gotten anywhere with it.”

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