Chautauqua County Volunteer Fire Departments Can Now Bill Patients

App users, tap here to watch video report.

MAYVILLE, NY (WNY News Now) – Volunteer fire departments across Chautauqua County can now bill patients, and their insurance companies, for ambulance rides to the hospital.

On Wednesday, the Chautauqua County Legislature approved a resolution okaying the law change.


Before this, volunteer agencies, which make up the majority of first responders countywide, could only rely on fundraising efforts, or other allocated funding, to pay for operations.

Now, departments can charge up to $250 dollars per ambulance ride.

Legislator Dave Wilfong, who represents those in the City of Jamestown, was among lawmakers supporting the measure. In fact, Wilfong says he thinks more could be done to help first responders.



“I think there should be some kind of tax break for them, or some type of stipend on their income tax, or something like that,” said Wilfong. “I think we really need to start reaching out, because they really carry the large load of emergency services; around the lake, who’s always searching for people out in the woods, it’s the volunteer fire department.”

Some departments are holding off from charging for services for the time being. However, the lawmaker says they always have an option to opt-in to the program.

 



Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the WNY News Now mobile app on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

 

Have a news tip? Email newsdesk@WNYNewsNow.com, send us a message on Facebook, or Twitter.

WNY News Now encourages an open exchange of opinions and ideas on our stories, however, we ask everyone to follow our comment policy.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*


This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.