Delaware County reviews two years of AMR ambulance contract as officials weigh rebid or extension

Delaware County officials on Feb. 1 discussed two years of data from the countywide ambulance contract with American Medical Response (AMR), with staff reporting improved response times and collection rates but leaving the decision about whether to extend the contract or issue a new request for proposals to the public safety committee.

The county’s EMS coordinator, Maggie Wilson, told the county legislature the AMR contract went into effect Dec. 1, 2022, and the presentation covered activity from Dec. 1, 2022, through Dec. 31, 2024. “We are in our last year of the contract with AMR,” Wilson said, and staff compiled monthly call reviews to support a committee recommendation on whether to extend, renegotiate, or rebid the contract.

Wilson said the county measures “patient contacts” as the times the county-contracted ambulance went to assist someone, including lift assists and stabilization until another unit could take over. County figures show net revenue per transport rose from $482.99 in 2023 to $597.21 in 2024. Across the two-year-and-one-month term, the county billed roughly $2,700,000 and collected about $1,400,000 (about 35% of billed gross charges), Wilson said. She explained that government payers — Medicare and Medicaid — reimburse at a set rate (Wilson said roughly $250 for a basic life support transport) that is well below the…