The Muncie Common Council on July 7 introduced Ordinance 25-25 to amend local emergency medical services (EMS) fees and collection practices in response to Indiana House Bill 1385, which changed billing rules for EMS providers statewide.

Dan Burkert, chief of the Muncie Fire Department, described the ordinance as aligning the city’s EMS billing with state changes and adding items the department cannot currently bill for, including a treat-no-transport fee and charges tied to mobile integrated health (community paramedicine) visits. Chief Burkert said the state law allows insurers to be billed at up to 400% of published Medicare rates and that the proposed schedule is a rounded representation of that 400% benchmark.

The proposal also reduces what self-pay patients would actually be charged: the ordinance includes a 60% reduced rate for uninsured patients compared with billed charges, and it creates a process by which patients can petition the fire chief for financial hardship relief. Chief Burkert said the department is exploring a mobile integrated health program to perform non‑transport visits, which could reduce demand on transport ambulances.

Why it matters: the state-level change in billing rules could increase EMS revenue from insured transports but also created the need to update local code so Muncie can capture allowed insurer reimbursements while offering financial relief to uninsured residents.

Key technical and procedural points raised in the hearing included a suggestion to tie fees directly to “400% of the published Medicare base rate” so future Medicare changes would automatically flow through to the city schedule instead of hard-coding dollar amounts. Chief Burkert welcomed follow-up questions and said the department would provide payer-mix and revenue estimates in the lead-up to a final vote.

Labor and community reaction: Jason Chaffin, president of Local 1348, supported the change as a reasonable way to increase collected revenue from insurers while reducing the amount billed to uninsured patients. Council members asked departmental staff to provide an estimate of projected revenue changes under the new schedule and discussed whether hardship appeals should be heard by “the chief or his designee”; Chief Burkert agreed the ordinance language could be adjusted to allow a designee.

Formal action: the council voted to introduce Ordinance 25-25; it will return for a final vote after staff provide follow-up financial projections and any technical edits.

Details not yet finalized: the ordinance as introduced includes specific dollar figures tied to the 400% concept; several council members recommended instead referencing 400% of published Medicare to avoid repeated ordinance updates as Medicare rates change. The department also committed to provide revenue projections and payer-mix data before final adoption.