(Courtesy photo)
By ALBERT VILLEGAS
Special to the NEWS
The dollar value for the city’s emergency medical services (EMS) will increase for residents to help support the entity’s operations, meet rising costs, and continue service delivery after San Benito elected leaders unanimously approved a request during an October meeting.
The increase to the base rate charge for EMS was submitted by South Texas Emergency Care Foundation, Inc. (STEC), which has also seen spikes in medical supplies, fuel, equipment maintenance, and personnel costs.
Commissioners were made aware of this in advance of their special Oct. 14 meeting. A Sept. 16 letter from STEC Executive Director William R. Aston to San Benito City Manager Fred Sandoval read that the board of directors voted for a 2.7 percent increase.
“We went to a Consumer Price Index so we could do this annually, if needed, and the rate percentage released in August was 2.7 so that’s what the (STEC) board of directors and a committee adopted last month,” Aston said. “It requires a 45-day notice, which is why we’re coming to you at this time.”
San Benito Fire Chief Efrain Bautista, who is a representative on STEC’s 22-membered board of directors, also received the letter via email.
Both were in attendance during the commissioner’s meeting.
Aston told elected officials STEC has approached the city every four to five years about a rate increase.
“We’ve changed that the past three years; San Benito’s current contract started in 2021 and will expire in December,” Aston said as he stood next to Chief Bautista.
Commissioner Pedro A. Galvan asked who takes care of the cost for uninsured residents who utilize STEC, to which Aston replied, “It’s written off as charity or non-payment.”
Aston said $3 to $5 million is written off every year. However, Aston added there are payment plans available to residents who are provided EMS service, and any amount is accepted.
“Believe me, there are many, many residents in our community who want to pay their bills, they just do not have the resources, but they will come to our office and pay five percent (or $5) on their bill,” Aston said. “And that’s fine because they’re trying to make payments.”
Galvan told Aston there are concerns among residents about STEC’s ambulance response times. Aston said there are four vehicles or what he termed as “four basic life support units that rotate around the clock.”
The following are types of services and the new base rates for which patients are responsible for that commissioners approved:
* Basic Life Support $868;
* Advanced Life Support I $994;
* Advanced Life Support II $1,169;
* Critical Care Support $1,332.
For those with Medicare or Medicaid, the new base rates vary.
Medicare rate is as follows:
* Basic Life Support $437.77;
* Advanced Life Support I $519.85;
* Advanced Life Support II $752.41;
* Critical Care Support $889.21.
Medicaid rate is as follows:
* Basic Life Support $240.23;
* Advanced Life Support I $285.28;
* Advanced Life Support II $412.90;
* Critical Care Support $487.97.
Aston said STEC’s rates are comparable with other municipalities in Cameron County, and the Rio Grande Valley, and less than areas around San Antonio, Houston, and Corpus Christi, according to information he provided during the meeting.
“We try to keep the (basic life support) rate lower than some of those major cities,” Aston said. “We also fall very well in line with others in Cameron and Willacy counties.”
The City of San Benito and the STEC Foundation began their partnership on April 2, 2013. The STEC letter addressed to Sandoval and Chief Bautista explained that there is a “provision which permits periodic adjustments to base rate charges.”
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