Res. No. 640
Resolution calling on the New York State Legislature to pass, and the Governor to sign, legislation that would expand the federal No Surprises Act by including ambulance transportation costs.
By Council Members Menin, Schulman, Riley, Louis, Hanif and Ossé
Whereas, In New York City, the Fire Department (“FDNY”) responds to fires, public safety and medical emergencies, natural disasters and terrorist acts; and
Whereas, The FDNY's Emergency Medical Services (“EMS”) is the largest provider of emergency medical services in New York City and across the nation, responding to more than 1.5 million medical emergencies during Fiscal Year2022, which included 564,412 life-threatening medical emergencies; and
Whereas, The two main types of ambulances that operate in New York City are Advanced Life Support ambulances (“ALS”), which are staffed by two paramedics, and Basic Life Support ambulances (“BLS”), which are staffed by two emergency medical technicians; and
Whereas, ALS incidents include such calls as cardiac arrest, choking, difficulty breathing, unconsciousness, and other serious life threatening medical emergencies and BLS incidents include a wide variety of non-life threatening conditions: and
Whereas, According to FDNY, when an individual experiences a medical emergency and requires an EMS ambulance, the current billing rate is $900 for a BLS ambulance and $1,525 for an ALS ambulance; and
Whereas, According to the FDNY, these rates are expected to increase in 2023 to $1,385 for a BLS ambulance and $1,680 for an ALS ambulance; and
Whereas, In 2020, the 116th Congress passed the No Surprises Act, which was signed into law on December 27, 2020 by then President Trump and subsequently went into effect on January 1, 2022; and
Whereas, The No Surprises Act established federal protections against surprise medical bills that may arise when insured individuals inadvertently receive care from out-of-network hospitals, doctors, and/or other providers who they did not select; and
Whereas, The No Surprises Act prohibits doctors, hospitals, and other covered providers from billing patients more than the in-network cost sharing amount for surprise medical bills; and Whereas, However, the No Surprises Act does not include ground ambulance services; and
Whereas, Ambulance services can be extremely costly, especially for those individuals that live paycheck to paycheck and cannot afford additional medical costs; and
Whereas, The City and State should offer expansive medical protections for all New Yorkers that include ambulance costs; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls calling on the New York State Legislature to pass, and the Governor to sign, legislation that would expand the federal No Surprises Act by including ambulance transportation costs.
WJH
LS 12277
5/8/23