Dead horse, new article

[terrible one]

Some places do well with privates providing emergency EMS, but they are the minority

 

[shfd739]

Some places do well with privates providing emergency EMS, but they are the minority

I work for a private and have for the past 7 1/2 years as my main job. I've had the chance to go to fire based ALS only department but chose not to due to my private treating me so well and knowing the city agency politics are what they are. Also their care can be cookbookish and lazy.

I've also worked for a not for profit 911 only service that had all the money in the world thru their county subsidy and have consistently squandered it and not lived up to their potential. All of my family lives in this agencies response area and Im scared for them to call 911 because I know how potentially poor the care will be.

Where I work now we are private and the 911 provider for the county areas along with multiple smaller municipalities. Our equipment is top notch, we are doing CPRHD and induced hypothermia, and the areas we serve are getting the best service theyve ever had. The county can't duplicate what we do for what the subsidy is. Here private works.

To me it isn't so much about knocking out privates all together, it's about getting rid of the crappy services so that the higher performing ones are left.

 

[HotelCo]

Some places do well with privates providing emergency EMS, but they are the minority

Care to cite your source?

 

[46Young]

I'd be okay with large hospital system doing 911 EMS. since they're large, they're less likely to fold. The employees are generally paid better than the privates, with more benefits, paid time off, a better match for the 403b, their hiring standards are higher, they take better care of their equipment, the average tenure is longer, they'll assist with education, etc. Their medical director is more apt to be a forward thinker, as opposed to the OMD in the privates, who knows they're working with the bottom of the barrel, or with those who don't care about the company, and are just waiting for job opportunities elsewhere.

 

[emt seeking first job]

Interesting how they focused on R/M being investigated but failed to mention the ongoing investigation of Dallas FD over an alleged $40 million in Medicare fraud.

This has Harry Schaitberger written all over it.

When a small medical office does it, the owner is arrested and goes through the criminal courts.

When a large organization does it, a hospital, that nobody 'owns' per se but people control, get a salary, benefits, perks, then the organization gets a fine.

 

[emt seeking first job]

I believe all municipalities should provide free basic EMS service funded by taxes. This should be like fire, police, k-12 Education already are.

If a another entity wishes to offer it for a fee, just like anyone can pay for private security or education, then that should be available also.

 

[Veneficus]

If reimbursement rates drop, how is a private provider going to cut a profit, w/o contributions from the municipality? That defeats the purpose of outsourcing, doesn't it?

My point is that if reimbursement for transport drops off, other revenue streams will have to be sought.

With both an aging population as well as the need to control medical costs, there is a lot of potential to make money by offering superior "care" at less cost.

EMS is already one of the mian entrance points to the healthcare system. By diversifying itself to be able to direct people to somewhere other than the ED and acting as a gatekeeper by taking an active role in prevention and other forms of out of hospital care, I could see a lot of money being made.

Will some things have to change? Certainly.

But it doesn't mean there will be no opportunity to make money.

 

[Luno]

Yeah....

Personally I never want to see a system primarily run by private EMS. Private EMS companies are out to make money. Tri-med, a private EMS company in the PNW, has fired EMT's for requesting Paramedics. Why? Because the paramedics transport the patient who needed paramedic care and tri-med gets no money.

Where I live I like the fire based EMS system I have. Other places I would not want to see a firefighter even put a bandaid on someone. But I don't think EMS should be privatized. I feel it should be a municipality.

I'm gonna have to throw the flag on this one, knowing Tri-Med (current and former employee), and knowing one of the two owners pretty well, I'm going to say that there is more to this story... Now, there are things that could be improved, and I'm not going to say that this employee was fired for adequate cause, but I highly doubt that billing is the reason...

 

[terrible one]

Care to cite your source?

I suppose I should have defined "do EMS well", essentially I meant the "well" from a prospective employee standpoint not the actual providing of care to communities.
If I could find a source that showed the pay, benefits, and retirements of municipal providers vs. those of a private nature I would post it. However, I find it very difficult to believe that the majority of private ambulances have higher salaries, etc. than there public counterparts. I know they do in certain areas but again those are not the majority.

 

[Veneficus]

I suppose I should have defined "do EMS well", essentially I meant the "well" from a prospective employee standpoint not the actual providing of care to communities.
If I could find a source that showed the pay, benefits, and retirements of municipal providers vs. those of a private nature I would post it. However, I find it very difficult to believe that the majority of private ambulances have higher salaries, etc. than there public counterparts. I know they do in certain areas but again those are not the majority.

I hate to be the one to point this out, but given the antigovernment/tax political climate and the outright assault on organized labor, the public pay and benefits may not be there very much longer.

I wonder how many people who were antigovernment and antigovernment spending realized that included them too?

 

[terrible one]

Good.
Public employees should not be earning the kind of salary they do plus excellent benefit pacakages. Especially in this type of economy. Ofcourse there are exceptions to the rules, but many of those government jobs are overpaid.

 

[medicsb]

How is "private EMS" defined? Are we talking solely of private, for profit companies? Or non-profits, too? What about ambulance associations, etc. that are non-profit (501c) that do not receive any funding from the community? Do they count as "private"?