Fire-Medics to Dump Patients Without Insurance

Today marks Day Three of the Los Pollos Fire-Rescue Department’s new transport policy. This new Policy allows city owned ambulance crews to pick and choose which patients they transport or not.

Our sources on the ground are noticing a surprising trend- patients with insurance companies that pay quickly and fully are being transported by the Fire Department. While patients without adequate insurance are turned over for transported by private ambulances companies. Although it is still too early to determine if this is deliberate or perhaps just a coincidence where the fire department was closest and best-equipped to handle those specific patients and only those specific patients, the affect is already starting to be seen in the daily income projections of multiple local private EMS companies.

One EMS manager estimated twenty-five percent of his workforce is facing unemployment. “The city is getting paid for the runs they take. We on the other hand are getting stiffed on bills left and right.”

The controversial new policy has City run fire-medics responding alone and transporting on calls marked in the city’s CAD system as being affluent and “likely to be compensated by insurance.” Calls with a lower likelihood of financial compensation are being diverted to private EMS services, because they “don’t need the higher level of service that the fire department can provide”, according to Chief Willie McDonald.

We’ll keep you advised of this developing situation.