The next time you request EMS service, $50 will be added to your bill.
‘It’s been three years since we’ve adjusted any rates,? said Steve Ronk, Independence Township fire chief. ‘Blue Cross Blue Shield and the insurance companies adjust their rates every year.?
With the rising cost of fuel as well as operating cost, Ronk said they had to up their rates.
‘We looked were we stood with the insurance company rates and we adjusted ours to match there average,? he said. ‘We’re not in the high, we’re not in the low, we’re somewhere in the middle.?
Ronk explained one of the problems of setting there billing at a certain amount and leaving it there, is insurance companies allow $20 or $50 more and the department is not collecting as much recovery cost from the insurance companies as they could.
‘If we don’t stay somewhere near it, it’s a disservice to the tax payer because we’re not getting cost recovery to where we could. When we bill the insurance company we want to get whatever there level is at,? said Ronk. ‘I don’t want people to think that we are trying to get in their pocket or raising rates for a reason other than trying to stay current with the insurance industry.?