The Daily Herald recently published an article discussing a planned increase in ambulance fees in Glen Ellyn, highlighting how the village is adjusting its billing practices to better manage rising operational costs.

Glen Ellyn is set to implement new ambulance fee changes, including higher charges for nonresidents and new fees for certain emergency calls that were previously free. The village board unanimously approved these updates, which will go into effect on June 15, 2014, as part of efforts to address growing expenses.

“These fees are essential in helping us maintain high-quality emergency medical services,” said Assistant Village Manager Al Stonitsch. “While they aren’t designed to generate profit, they do help cover some of our costs.”

For example, in fiscal year 2012-13, the village spent over $1 million on ambulance services but only collected around $744,000 in fees. This financial gap has prompted officials to rethink their current approach.

One of the key changes involves raising nonresident fees for two types of advanced life-support services by $103 and $219, respectively. These increases bring the rates up to $1,200 and $1,400 from the previous $1,097 and $1,181. Resident fees and those for basic life-support services will remain unchanged.

Another change introduces new fee categories for “treat-no transport” calls and “citizen assist” calls. Currently, the village doesn’t charge for these, but they make up about 25% of all ambulance responses annually. Officials say this shift aligns with practices in other nearby communities like Naperville and Hinsdale, where similar fees already exist.

Fire Chief Jim Bodony explained that many of these calls involve elderly individuals who may have fallen at home or in senior care facilities. “They call because they’ve fallen and just need someone to help them back into bed,” he said. “We want to discourage unnecessary use of EMS, especially when it’s not truly an emergency.”

To reduce the burden on infrequent users, officials initially proposed a “three strike” rule, under which patients wouldn’t be billed until their fourth citizen assist call. However, the board decided to table this idea.

Finally, the board also approved an annual fee escalation clause, which will increase by either 2% or the Consumer Price Index—whichever is lower. This adjustment will take effect in June 2016.

Thanks, Dan.

A previous post on funding for the Glen Ellyn VFD.

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