The privatizers are back.
There is no crisis in paying for our wonderful single payer ambulance. It's the best value I get for my tax dollar. $53 and we get quick response from trained emt's and nobody gets a bill. My neighbor that doesn't have health insurance doesn't need to fear a big bill when her kid has an asthma attack. If we go to billing, the insurance companies will raise premiums to cover the cost - plus profit! Then not only will the uninsured not call when they need an ambulance, but those of us that do have insurance will become part of the system that allows the insurance industry to make obscene profits.
The Village held a public forum last year to get feedback from the community on wether or not to go to billing. The overwhelming majority said NO! What part of "no" don't they understand?
We have to tell them again and again.
here's a link to the audio
0-10-10 Chris Thomas explains that the factor that will result in either a modest tax increase, or going to billing, is decreasing volunteerism. "And knowing that volunteerism is dwindling, like nationally, it's just a trend, um, we obviously can't predict, but, the number has been floated that within 3 to 5 years, we are going to be a 24/7 department, we're not going to have volunteers to cover it."
I've researched this at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and at the Corporation for National and Community Service. Volunteerism in general is not decreasing, it actually increased slightly from 07 to 08. Volunteerism at Fire and EMS departments decreased slightly. Could this be because what is happening here in Trumansburg is happening in other communities, and volunteers don't like their EMS companies being privatized?
0-14-08 Chris - "...but, and this is a big but, you have to realize that this is based on a 600 call volume, when we start direct billing, if that is the route that we go, the call volume is going to go down, guaranteed." Chris explains that this is because patients who are abusing the system will be less likely to abuse the system, if they realize that they will get a bill. He doesn't seem concerned that some of his constituents who will be wary of a bill, are in real need of emergency service. Conservatives like Chris can't stand the thought of Ronald Reagan's "welfare queen" being supported by his tax dollars. If some hard working Ulysses citizen, that doesn't earn enough to be able to afford the outrageous cost of private for profit health insurance, gets harmed by the move to billing, that's just collateral damage. Chris said that another municipality went to billing, and their call volume went down 40% . I find it very hard to believe that 40% of potential patients decided not to call because they didn't really need an ambulance, and they were only going to call because they knew it was free. I guess I just have a little higher respect for my neighbors than that.
0-17-50 Rod Ferintino "the other thing is, we get on a lot of wrecks (vehicle accidents) and people are seriously hurt and they're refusing to go to the hospital, because they ask, is there a bill? ..... It's going to make it even more difficult for the people in the field to convince people to go ...... there's a lot of people that refuse to go." Rod is an EMS volunteer. He's in favor of billing! He sees people in need of help, who won't accept his help for fear of a bill. He now can tell them there is no bill - and he wants to go to billing! I don't get it. I believe this is called cognitive dissonance. Rod needs therapy.
0-19-30 Chris explains what a great deal we can get from the third party billing company - Professional Ambulance Billing (Buffalo) they will charge $28/ call. They are like a little leech that attaches itself to the big leech, that is the private for profit health insurance industry, that sucks the blood of we the people.
0-24-19 Chris "This is also a highly traveled tourist area especially during wine season, and that means that we're taking care of all the tourists who aren't paying taxes in this area" Right. And if you visit any of the developed countries in the world and need an ambulance, they will take care of you and you won't get a bill. If you go to many municipalities in this country, that have resisted the pull towards privatization, they also will provide free ambulatory care if you need it. It's called civilized society.
0-31-0 Rod says that in Dryden they went to 24/7 paid, and the volunteerism increased. I don't know what they're smoking in Dryden, but the volunteers that I've spoken to in Trumansburg don't like billing, so if 24/7 goes hand in hand with billing, then volunteerism will decrease.
0-36-0 Rod says that it's inevitable that we have to bill. Otherwise we have to put it on the taxpayer, and the "taxpayer has enough on his plate." I'm a taxpayer - I want to pay. Please don't do it! Let me pay! Most of my tax dollars go to pay for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and bailing out Wall Street. I don't want to pay for that. This is what taxes should be for. This is the best value I get for my tax dollar. Leave my Ambulance service alone! The tax increase that you are talking about is peanuts compared to my overall taxes. Chill out!
0-39-0 Doug Austic asks how soon we could go to billing. Chris - "The ambulance billing could literally be instituted within two months. We're probably talking about within 6 months. Almost assuredly before the next budget cycle starts."
0-42-30 Rod '' You're gonna find that if you change the system in any way, there's gonna be a lot of volunteers that are gonna be very upset and they're gonna walk out the door" Exactly right Rod. Good reason not to do it!
0-42-20 - Rod and Rordan Hart argue about who is forcing a paradigm shift on who. Very amusing. Rod doesn't quite understand the word. Rordan gets all huffy and says that the "system is forcing a paradigm shift on the Village. ''
If we all were to become selfish bastards like the hero of an Ayn Rand novel, and rebel against taxes and refuse to voluntarily help our neighbors in need, that would be a "paradigm shift", but that's not what's happening here. Is it?
0-52-0 Somewhere around this mark, they talk about the Village needing the town's support, because the town is the largest customer of the EMS. As I write this, the Town has just passed a resolution in favor of billing. The three members at this meeting, Austic, Ferintino, and Kerness, in favor, and Thomas and Tyler opposed. When Roxanne Marino takes office, the balance will shift - 3 to 2 opposed.
0-54-30 public comment period starts with me. I'm the only one in the room against billing. I mention my concern that Chris's "insurance only" idea for billing is really just a smokescreen. I got my back of the envelope calculations wrong here. It's actually less expensive per citizen than I thought. If we continue with our current system, no billing, and continue with the current level of volunteers, our taxes for the EMS will be, on average, about $53/citizen/year. That is not a crisis.
1-02-00 More cognitive dissonance. Jason Fulton, the Fire Chief, says that he would be willing to pay several times more than he now pays, to know that Paramedics were ready to roll from the Fire Hall that have the training and equipment and certification, to save his kid if need be. And yet Jason is for billing. Jason has insurance. He's not worried about a bill. At least 15% of Ulysses, Hector and Covert, don't have health insurance and would be very worried about bills.
1-04-00 Ron McLean (I think) urges the board to inform the public about whichever way they go on billing. I don't think that they intend to inform the public. They did that last year at the public forum, and the public told them, that by a two to one margin, they were against billing. That's not the kind of input they are looking for.
1-06-00 Carstensen "I don't think anybody should fool themselves, that when we shift the cost onto the private for profit insurance companies, that it's not going to come back, it's definitely going to come back, maybe not on Trumansburg specifically, but it will come back on the people. The profit ratio of theses private for profit health insurance companies just keeps going up, and up, and up. When they see an expense come in, they're going to bill for it. So, you might save some taxes, but you're not going to save the people any money, because it's going to come right back, plus profit. One of the reasons that insurance is going up, and it's going to double in the next 7 to 8 years, there's a million reasons, but one of them is probably municipalities, like us, doing just what we're doing.
.............No response
Marty Petrovic moves the conversation to the Fire side.
0-10-10 Chris Thomas explains that the factor that will result in either a modest tax increase, or going to billing, is decreasing volunteerism. "And knowing that volunteerism is dwindling, like nationally, it's just a trend, um, we obviously can't predict, but, the number has been floated that within 3 to 5 years, we are going to be a 24/7 department, we're not going to have volunteers to cover it."
I've researched this at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and at the Corporation for National and Community Service. Volunteerism in general is not decreasing, it actually increased slightly from 07 to 08. Volunteerism at Fire and EMS departments decreased slightly. Could this be because what is happening here in Trumansburg is happening in other communities, and volunteers don't like their EMS companies being privatized?
0-14-08 Chris - "...but, and this is a big but, you have to realize that this is based on a 600 call volume, when we start direct billing, if that is the route that we go, the call volume is going to go down, guaranteed." Chris explains that this is because patients who are abusing the system will be less likely to abuse the system, if they realize that they will get a bill. He doesn't seem concerned that some of his constituents who will be wary of a bill, are in real need of emergency service. Conservatives like Chris can't stand the thought of Ronald Reagan's "welfare queen" being supported by his tax dollars. If some hard working Ulysses citizen, that doesn't earn enough to be able to afford the outrageous cost of private for profit health insurance, gets harmed by the move to billing, that's just collateral damage. Chris said that another municipality went to billing, and their call volume went down 40% . I find it very hard to believe that 40% of potential patients decided not to call because they didn't really need an ambulance, and they were only going to call because they knew it was free. I guess I just have a little higher respect for my neighbors than that.
0-17-50 Rod Ferintino "the other thing is, we get on a lot of wrecks (vehicle accidents) and people are seriously hurt and they're refusing to go to the hospital, because they ask, is there a bill? ..... It's going to make it even more difficult for the people in the field to convince people to go ...... there's a lot of people that refuse to go." Rod is an EMS volunteer. He's in favor of billing! He sees people in need of help, who won't accept his help for fear of a bill. He now can tell them there is no bill - and he wants to go to billing! I don't get it. I believe this is called cognitive dissonance. Rod needs therapy.
0-19-30 Chris explains what a great deal we can get from the third party billing company - Professional Ambulance Billing (Buffalo) they will charge $28/ call. They are like a little leech that attaches itself to the big leech, that is the private for profit health insurance industry, that sucks the blood of we the people.
0-24-19 Chris "This is also a highly traveled tourist area especially during wine season, and that means that we're taking care of all the tourists who aren't paying taxes in this area" Right. And if you visit any of the developed countries in the world and need an ambulance, they will take care of you and you won't get a bill. If you go to many municipalities in this country, that have resisted the pull towards privatization, they also will provide free ambulatory care if you need it. It's called civilized society.
0-31-0 Rod says that in Dryden they went to 24/7 paid, and the volunteerism increased. I don't know what they're smoking in Dryden, but the volunteers that I've spoken to in Trumansburg don't like billing, so if 24/7 goes hand in hand with billing, then volunteerism will decrease.
0-36-0 Rod says that it's inevitable that we have to bill. Otherwise we have to put it on the taxpayer, and the "taxpayer has enough on his plate." I'm a taxpayer - I want to pay. Please don't do it! Let me pay! Most of my tax dollars go to pay for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and bailing out Wall Street. I don't want to pay for that. This is what taxes should be for. This is the best value I get for my tax dollar. Leave my Ambulance service alone! The tax increase that you are talking about is peanuts compared to my overall taxes. Chill out!
0-39-0 Doug Austic asks how soon we could go to billing. Chris - "The ambulance billing could literally be instituted within two months. We're probably talking about within 6 months. Almost assuredly before the next budget cycle starts."
0-42-30 Rod '' You're gonna find that if you change the system in any way, there's gonna be a lot of volunteers that are gonna be very upset and they're gonna walk out the door" Exactly right Rod. Good reason not to do it!
0-42-20 - Rod and Rordan Hart argue about who is forcing a paradigm shift on who. Very amusing. Rod doesn't quite understand the word. Rordan gets all huffy and says that the "system is forcing a paradigm shift on the Village. ''
If we all were to become selfish bastards like the hero of an Ayn Rand novel, and rebel against taxes and refuse to voluntarily help our neighbors in need, that would be a "paradigm shift", but that's not what's happening here. Is it?
0-52-0 Somewhere around this mark, they talk about the Village needing the town's support, because the town is the largest customer of the EMS. As I write this, the Town has just passed a resolution in favor of billing. The three members at this meeting, Austic, Ferintino, and Kerness, in favor, and Thomas and Tyler opposed. When Roxanne Marino takes office, the balance will shift - 3 to 2 opposed.
0-54-30 public comment period starts with me. I'm the only one in the room against billing. I mention my concern that Chris's "insurance only" idea for billing is really just a smokescreen. I got my back of the envelope calculations wrong here. It's actually less expensive per citizen than I thought. If we continue with our current system, no billing, and continue with the current level of volunteers, our taxes for the EMS will be, on average, about $53/citizen/year. That is not a crisis.
1-02-00 More cognitive dissonance. Jason Fulton, the Fire Chief, says that he would be willing to pay several times more than he now pays, to know that Paramedics were ready to roll from the Fire Hall that have the training and equipment and certification, to save his kid if need be. And yet Jason is for billing. Jason has insurance. He's not worried about a bill. At least 15% of Ulysses, Hector and Covert, don't have health insurance and would be very worried about bills.
1-04-00 Ron McLean (I think) urges the board to inform the public about whichever way they go on billing. I don't think that they intend to inform the public. They did that last year at the public forum, and the public told them, that by a two to one margin, they were against billing. That's not the kind of input they are looking for.
1-06-00 Carstensen "I don't think anybody should fool themselves, that when we shift the cost onto the private for profit insurance companies, that it's not going to come back, it's definitely going to come back, maybe not on Trumansburg specifically, but it will come back on the people. The profit ratio of theses private for profit health insurance companies just keeps going up, and up, and up. When they see an expense come in, they're going to bill for it. So, you might save some taxes, but you're not going to save the people any money, because it's going to come right back, plus profit. One of the reasons that insurance is going up, and it's going to double in the next 7 to 8 years, there's a million reasons, but one of them is probably municipalities, like us, doing just what we're doing.
.............No response
Marty Petrovic moves the conversation to the Fire side.
