Cathedral City fire chief outlines plan to boost ambulance revenue, add medic unit and shore up staffing

Fire Chief Contreras told the Cathedral City City Council during a budget update that the fire department’s multi-year strategic plan is focused on increasing ambulance revenue, improving response capacity and addressing staffing and equipment shortfalls.

Contreras said the department has improved insurance capture and billing practices and “was able to increase our ambulance billing just by 20%” after changing how insurance information was submitted, and that the city is poised for additional revenue increases if fee levels are updated. “We are the cheapest ambulance transport in Southern California,” Contreras said, describing a gap between local charges and Medicare and insurer reimbursement levels.

The discussion came as staff reported the city’s ambulance transport fees have not been reviewed since 2012. A city staff member identified as Charlie told the council that the finance department and a consultant have begun collecting departmental fee data and that the fee study is “actively in process” with departments expected to return data to the consultant within about a week.

Why it matters: Council members and staff said undercharging for ambulance transport forces the general fund to subsidize emergency services and constrains the department’s ability to hire and equip personnel. Chief Contreras estimated the department could generate…