Shenandoah board sets fees for ambulance service

View larger image A Shenandoah County ambulance travels along Old Valley Pike in Maurertown to Shenandoah Memorial Hospital on a call.

County residents without insurance won't be billed

By Sally Voth -- svoth@nvdaily.com

WOODSTOCK -- The Shenandoah County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday adopted emergency medical service billing fees.

Last month, the supervisors approved the hiring of EMS/MC, of Lewisville, N.C., to bill insurance companies, Medicare and Medicaid for EMS services, as well as the hiring of an EMS billing technician.

Tuesday's action was to set fees. The board adopted the ordinance without discussion, and there were no comments during a public hearing earlier in the meeting.

The ordinance sets fees for advanced life support emergency and non-emergency services, level-2 advanced life support, and basic life support emergency and non-emergency services at 125 percent of the Medicare Rural allowed amount.

Mileage also was set at 125 percent of the allowance.

County residents without insurance won't be billed, although non-county residents will be. The county has said that county residents won't be billed for what is left over after their insurance companies have paid.

An agenda item summary says the billing is expected to bring in $1.2 million to $1.4 million a year.

Also during Tuesday's board meeting:

• The panel adopted a resolution supporting the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation's application for Transportation Enhancement Act of the 21st Century funding from the Virginia Department of Transportation.

The foundation has applied for a $1 million grant to support battlefield restoration in Fishers Hill, Cedar Creek and Strasburg. It will pay a 20 percent match.

• The supervisors passed a resolution opposing the closing of the Orkney Springs post office. It asks that if the U.S. Postal Service goes forward with its plan, it consider maintaining partial postal operations in Orkney Springs.