The Detroit firefighters union is urging the city to hire more personnel in order to do away with its use of private ambulance companies currently lobbying for new contracts.
Council members this week sent about $5 million in contracts back to a committee for further review after fire department officials urged them against approving contracts originally agreed upon in 2023 with private ambulances that have been criticized for providing worse service. One council member questioned whether the companies were double charging patients.
The contracts expire Friday, May 1.
Jeffrey Pegg, vice president of the Detroit Fire Fire Association, at Tuesday’s Detroit City Council meeting urged members to oppose the contracts.
Council voted 4-3 to send the contracts back to the Public Health and Service committee on May 4. Voting to send the contracts back were Council President Pro Tem Coleman Young II, members Scott Benson, Latisha Johnson and Denzel McCampbell. Mary Waters, Angela Whitfield-Calloway and Renata Miller voted against approving contracts with the private ambulance companies.
Detroit pays three private ambulance companies more than half a million dollars a year to maintain an adequate number of emergency vehicles at all times, referred to by officials as “standby service.”
The city pays to have ambulances staged in different areas so they’re able to respond within six and a half minutes. However, the city doesn’t pay for the medical services the ambulance provides. That bill is passed onto the patient.
Whitfield Calloway called the set-up “double dipping.”
A University of Michigan study from 2020 found that over 70% of ground ambulance rides for privately insured patients are out-of-network, meaning patients could be on the hook for “balance bills” up to $20,000 per ride.
And even for patients who take ambulances for non-emergency reasons, arranged in advance with time enough to check insurance coverage, over half of patients could face a surprise bill for the out-of-network portion of the cost. On average, the study shows that bill could top $400.
The firefighters union says it’s a waste of money when the city could just hire more firefighters, who are also trained as EMS responders.
“This is a wake up call for the city to hire more, train us, and we can do the work,” Pegg told Michigan Chronicle. “You just need to hire the people to do it and buy the ambulances. What we need is the council to extend the contract for a year while the administration gets their act together and starts hiring more people and putting more of our people in ambulances on the street.
Pegg said both the administration of former Mayor Mike Duggan and current mayor Mary Sheffield are aware of the union’s position on its desire to take full control of its emergency response calls. The fire department has 26 EMS ambulances, but six advanced life support units available on a regular basis.
“We’re the best at what we do, and we’re the highest trained,” Pegg said. “So just to hire more, train us, give us more equipment, and we can do the job, no problem.”
Detroit Fire Department Second Deputy Commissioner Derek Hillman joining the meeting via Zoom called the contracts critical to supporting DFD during peak call hours.
Hillman suggested there would need to be nearly 20 ambulances added to the department, requiring about 120 new employees to provide adequate coverage at the same level as with the three private ambulance companies.
Detroit Procurement Director Sandra Stahl also suggested the private ambulances have improved response times. She told council members the cost of a new ambulance is around $300,000. Stahl also said that nearly 90 city residents are employed by the three private ambulance companies.
Council members who voted to send the contracts back to the committee expressed concern with maintaining proper service.
“At the end of the day, we still have to make sure folks have the EMT services they need when they call for help,” McCampbell said.
