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Sharon Fire Department seeks permission to begin ambulance billing
Summary
At a Jan. 28, 2025 Department of Public Health hearing, Sharon Fire Department representative Thalia McMillan testified the department is applying to bill for patient transports, citing a drop in volunteers and rising operating costs; the record was closed and a written decision will be issued.
Thalia McMillan, who testified on behalf of the Sharon Fire Department, told a Department of Public Health hearing on Jan. 28, 2025, that the department has applied for authority to bill for ambulance transports to hospital locations (docket 24-026).
The application, McMillan said, responds to two main pressures: a decline in volunteer staffing and higher operating costs tied to paid personnel and supplies. “We would like to apply to begin billing for services provided,” McMillan said during her testimony.
If approved, the change would permit Sharon Fire Department to bill for transports of individuals to hospital locations; the application and supporting exhibits were entered into the hearing record. The hearing officer accepted five exhibits into the record, including the department’s application, two affidavits from Renee Halota dated Dec. 18, 2024, and a Jan. 23, 2025 letter from the Northwest Connecticut EMS Council.
McMillan described staffing and call-volume details during questioning. She said the department currently has 10 active volunteers, down from roughly 20–23 in February 2019. “Active volunteers I have right now is 10,” McMillan testified. She said the department has hired paid personnel for daytime coverage because volunteer availability has declined.
McMillan also described the department’s call mix. She said about one-third of calls are to Sharon HealthCare, the local nursing-home rehabilitation center, and that many of those calls are nonemergency in nature but still enter the 911 system. “This past year, we ended up with 424 calls, and... a total of 428 patients,” McMillan said, adding that about 67% of calls result in transport.
During the hearing, the examiner asked whether Sharon Ambulance and the Sharon Fire Department are the sole PSR (provider service responder) holders for the town at the BLS level; McMillan replied they are the BLS provider and that Advanced Life Support coverage in the area is provided by Northern Duchess Paramedics but is not always available.
The hearing record was closed at the end of testimony. “So with that, I will close the record, and I’ll issue a written decision,” the hearing officer said. No final decision was announced at the hearing; the examiner said the written decision would be issued later.
Next steps: the Department of Public Health will issue a written decision on docket 24-026; no timetable was specified during the hearing.
