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Osceola County Supervisors forgive aging ambulance bill in hardship vote
Summary
The Osceola County Board of Supervisors voted to forgive an ambulance bill more than a year old after hearing that Medicare did not cover a patient transfer and county outreach could not locate payment sources.
The Osceola County Board of Supervisors voted to forgive an outstanding ambulance bill classified as a hardship after hearing the charge was not covered by Medicare and county attempts to collect were exhausted.
Board members discussed a non-emergency transfer last year in which an ambulance transported a patient to Sioux Falls for a clinic appointment that Medicare would not approve. A county staff member said the patient paid for the initial trip out of pocket, and the remaining charge—for the return trip and the ambulance crew’s wait—was now more than a year old and unlikely to be collected.
"I'd make a motion to do it under hardship and forgive it," an unidentified board member said before the board voted. The motion passed on a voice vote.
The item was presented under the agenda line "ambulance service hardship discount program write off." County staff said the local patient assistance coordinator (PCC) had exhausted resources to collect the payment and that the bill remained unpaid after attempts to reach the payer.
The board did not specify a dollar amount during the public discussion; the clerk confirmed the bill dated from last year and described it as older than 12 months. Supervisors moved and seconded the motion and approved the write-off by voice vote.
The forgiveness applies only to the particular account discussed; county staff did not indicate a policy change to future transfers or to the ambulance billing practice.
The board then moved on to other agenda items.
