cover
TO: Mayor Thomas J. Weisner
FROM: Brian W. Caputo, Chief Financial Officer/City Treasurer
DATE: January 20, 2016
SUBJECT:
Revision of the Procedure for Setting Nonresident User Fee Rates for Ambulance/Paramedic Services.
PURPOSE:
To obtain the City Council's approval of a change in the procedure for setting nonresident user fee rates for ambulance/paramedic services provided by the city.
BACKGROUND:
The City of Aurora provides ambulance/paramedic services within the city limits. The services are distinguished as basic life support (BLS), advanced life support - level 1 (ALS1), and advanced life support - level 2 (ALS2). BLS consists of providing less complex medical services and can include establishing a peripheral intravenous line. ALS1 consists of providing more complex medical services but not those of ALS2. ALS2 consists of providing at least three different medications or one of the following procedures:
* Manual defibrillation.
* Endotracheal intubation.
* Cardiac pacing.
* Chest decompression.
* Surgical airway.
* Intraosseous line.
The Aurora Fire Department estimates that only about 1% of its ambulance calls require ALS2 services.
Like most municipalities, the City of Aurora charges different rates for patients who are residents and nonresidents. The city has adjusted its ambulance fee rates each year based upon a methodology established in Resolution No. R06-46, adopted by the City Council on February 14, 2006. The resident rates are always equal to the ambulance/paramedic payment rates established for Medicare-eligible persons by the United States Department of Health and Human Services. The nonresident rates were initially equal to the respective averages for nonresident rates reported in the ambulance/paramedic services survey conducted by the City of Naperville in 2005 (i.e., the "Naperville Survey"). The Naperville Survey is an annual survey of over 100 fire departments and fire protection distr...
Click here for full text