King George County will begin charging fees for emergency medical transports on August 1, 2007, but individuals will not see any disruptions in the emergency response services provided by rescue personnel and no one will EVER be denied necessary medical transport service due to their inability to pay or a lack of insurance. The difference between service now and beginning on August 1 is that individuals will receive a bill for the ambulance ride.

Most insurance companies, as well as Medicare and Medicaid, have already designated funds in their programs for ambulance transport. However, the County has developed a Compassionate Billing Policy to protect patients who are uninsured or underinsured. Any person receiving ambulance transportation shall be eligible for waiver of fees if the applicant resides in a household having documented income less than the most recent annual median household income ($53,030) for King George County, Virginia, as determined by the U. S. Census Bureau.

The amount of the fees charged will be based on the level of care a patient receives during transport. The fees are based on rates set by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Patients who are transported to a hospital or other treatment facility will be billed according to one of the following categories:

1. Basic Life Support: $350.00. Services for Basic Life Support shall be medical treatment or procedures provided to a patient as defined by the National Emergency Medicine Services (EMS) Education and Practice Blueprint for the Emergency Medical Technician (EMT)-Basic.
2. Advanced Life Support Level 1: $450.00. Services for Advanced Life Support Level 1 shall be medical treatment or procedures provided to a patient beyond the scope of an EMT-Basic as defined by the National EMS Education and Practice Blueprint.
3. Advanced Life Support Level 2: $550.00. Services for Advanced Life Support Level 2 shall be services provided to a patient including any of the following medical procedures:
   • Manual defibrillation/cardioversion;
   • Endotracheal intubation;
   • Central venous line;
   • Cardiac pacing;
   • Chest decompression;
   • Surgical airway;
   • Intraosseous line; or,
   • Administration of three (3) or more medications.
4. Ground Transport Fee: $9.00 per statute mile from the location of the incident scene, or from the center point of the emergency demand zone, if applicable, where an incident scene or address is located, to a hospital or other facility where a patient is transported.

In some cases, Medicaid, Medicare and insurance companies will pay only a portion of the bill. Patients with this coverage will not be required to pay any outstanding balances. King George residents who pay taxes will not be billed for co-pays and/or deductibles for ambulance service.

Insured patients who are residents of King George County, Virginia, are not responsible for any ambulance transport service fees not paid by their insurance carrier or carriers. All other patients are responsible for ambulance transport service fees not paid by their insurance carrier or carriers unless otherwise waived as provided in the Compassionate Billing section.

Patients are not responsible for any amount of the ambulance transport service fees adjusted by insurance carriers as result of state or federal regulations or by agreement with King George County.

For more information about the Ambulance Fee for Service Program, please call the Emergency Services Department at (540) 775-7995 and/or visit the frequently asked questions (FAQ) that have been provided.