Panel Backs Plan to Add to Ambulance Fee

A trip in an ambulance would cost $450 under a proposal endorsed Thursday by a committee of the Orange County Fire Authority.

The proposal would add $150 to the existing $300 fee and would affect the 19 cities and unincorporated areas served by the Fire Authority. It is scheduled to come before the agency’s executive committee for a final vote later this month.

Currently, the $300 fee goes to the private ambulance companies that contract with the authority. The fee does not cover the costs of the paramedic who treats the patient at the scene and usually rides with him or her to the hospital.

Officials said they need to recoup the costs of paramedic service to bring the authority’s budget into balance.

Earlier this year, the Fire Authority proposed starting its own ambulance service, which would allow the agency to collect the transportation fee. The plan called for a slight reduction in the transportation charge to $270.

But ambulance companies strongly opposed the idea and questioned whether the authority could provide the service without raising fees. The proposal also faced legal hurdles.

Last month, the authority’s budget and finance commission approved an alternative plan that would raise the private ambulance transportation charge to $450. The extra $150 would be used to recoup paramedic costs.

On Thursday, the personnel and administration committee also endorsed the alternative.