TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) – The Terre Haute City Council approved a general ordinance to raise the rates of various medical user fees in the city.
The goal is to offset some of the costs of rising medical supplies due to nationwide inflation.
The four types of medical user fees in the city will all see a $100 increase across the board.
- $550 Basic Life Support Fee
- $650 Advanced Life Support Fee: Level I
- $850 Advanced Life Support Fee: Level II
- $300 Non-Transport Medical Call
In the 22 years that this fee has existed, very few times has it seen an increase. Terre Haute Fire Chief Bill Berry said that despite the increase, these are still some of the cheapest rates in the state. He said that cost of medical supplies are going up.
“Medical supplies are just like groceries or anything else, it’s going up,” Berry said.
Another example of cost increases that Berry mentioned is that fire engines could cost around $600,000 in today’s market.
Berry emphasized that this fee is not a tax. This user fee is only for an individual who needs an ambulance. He said that this fee has saved Terre Haute taxpayers millions of dollars over the past two decades.
“This is not a tax,” Berry explained. “It’s a user fee, it’s strictly a user fee.”
The Terre Haute City Council was onboard with the fee increase. Council President Cheryl Loudermilk said that this could help offset some of the medical supply costs.
“We felt just a small increase in those fees will help offset some of the cost that we do spend,” Loudermilk said.
All non-resident calls will be $250 in addition to the four medical user fees listed above. Berry suggested that those with Medicaid or Medicare might not feel the impact of the increases.
“Patients that we do pick up that have Medicare or Medicaid, they have allocated rates anyway so they’re not going to see any of this increase,” Berry said.
