CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM
ACTION REQUESTED:
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Conduct the first reading of an ordinance amending Title 1 (Administrative) Chapter 8 (Municipal Departments) Article B (Fire Department) of the Municipal Code related to ambulance and emergency response services
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DEPARTMENT: Fire Department
SUBMITTED BY: Fire Chief Mark J. Puknaitis
BOARD/COMMISSION REVIEW:
N/A
BACKGROUND:
In 2015, the City Council approved three financial principles to be used as guidelines for all future budgetary discussions.
1. Principle #1
The City will pass a structurally balanced operating budget annually;
2. Principle #2
The City commits to continuous improvement in the delivery of necessary and cost-effective services; and
3. Principle #3
The City will actively seek to increase its reserves to 25% and reduce its debt by 25% in the next eight years.
The fiscal impact of passing the proposed ordinance meets, or assists in meeting, the City’s adherence to these principles. This ordinance is also in line with the following actions taken by the City Council since 2003.
04/02/2003 - Item L1
Ordinance 03-091 approving an increase in ambulance fees.
03/04/2008 - Item L2
Accepted staff recommendation to increase ambulance fees.
04/01/2008 - Item I10
Ordinance 08-065 approving an ambulance fee increase for ambulance transport fees pursuant to the Medicare reimbursement rate or 3%, whichever is greater, effective on May 1st of each year.
09/15/2009 - Item I24
Ordinance 09-108 approving an ambulance fee increase to patients served by the Naperville Fire Department.
10/18/2016 - Item L4
Ordinance 16-174 increasing ambulance fees and removing the out-of-pocket costs for ambulance service for Naperville residents.
DISCUSSION:
The Naperville Fire Department (NFD) offers both Basic Life Support (BLS) and full-service, all-inclusive Advanced Life Support (ALS) ambulance services. BLS involves the treatment of non-life threatening injuries or illnesses. ALS care involves more advanced medical procedures such as administering medication, IV therapy, and heartbeat monitoring.
In 2019, Ground Emergency Medical Transport (GEMT), a supplemental federal funding program, was created. GEMT allows Illinois fire agencies that perform emergency medical transports for Medicaid patients to receive reimbursement of the actual transport cost. Prior to GEMT, the NFD collected an average of $176 for each Medicaid patient transport. Further, the NFD collected $1,800 for each non-Medicaid transport. Actual cost of a patient transport is $2,604 and more than 7,750 patients were transported via ambulance in 2019.
Each year, the NFD must submit a report to the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) and/or the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) reflecting the actual transport costs incurred. The report allows fire agencies the ability to accurately, and transparently, account for all costs directly related to patient transport only.
The proposed ordinance change will ensure that all residents within the City’s corporate limits, or the Naperville Fire Protection District, will be charged a standardized fee equal to the amount submitted to HFS and/or CMS regardless of insurance provider. Further, the fee will be automatically adjusted, according to the report submitted, without Council action on January 1 of each year.
The NFD is committed to continually identifying the most innovative and creative service efficiencies. This mindset aligns with the City’s broader goals and, from a public safety perspective, allows the department to keep its emergency services at the highest caliber while being as cost effective as possible.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Estimated $500,000 increase in annual revenues.