BLACKSBURG, Va. – Over the past few years, EMS and medical supply costs have grown astronomically, but the Blacksburg Volunteer Rescue Squad has come up with a way to recover some of that money.
Every year, the prices for emergency equipment continues to increase.
“The cost of the ambulance right here behind me has gone up almost $200,000 increase just in the last, probably, four years,” said David English, Blacksburg Volunteer Rescue Squad Chief.
As one of the last departments held out in charging for EMS transportation in our region, the Blacksburg Volunteer Rescue Squad has started a revenue recovery program to make up some of the costs.
I talked to English about this and he said the way it works is they use the money from insurances and taxes to cover the bill.
“Really what we’re trying to do is not leave that money on the table and let the insurance companies get richer,” said English. “The most important thing about this whole program is to understand while we are trying to take advantage of the insurance policies that exist with this coverage, it is not being passed on to the individuals.”
If you do not have insurance, he said that is not a worry either.
“If you don’t have insurance the whole thing is written off,” English said.
I met with Blacksburg town council member Liam Watson about the passed ordinance.
He said he voted no but has a reason why.
“If you’re one of the hundreds of thousands of visitors we have every year or if you’re one of the many many people who commute into Blacksburg for work and if you’re at work, or out shopping and need an ambulance, you could end up stuck with that bill,” said Watson. “That’s the reason I voted no.”
English said the transition to this should be smooth and seamless for everyone.