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Commission approves ambulance remount purchase and raises service rates
Summary
The commission approved a $188,663 bid to remount an ambulance chassis and adopted a set of ambulance rate increases, including new fees for non‑transport assessments and higher event standby and per‑mile charges. Commissioners discussed Medicare/Medicaid reimbursement limits and billing constraints.
YANKTON, S.D. — Yankton County commissioners voted to proceed with a remount of a county ambulance and approved a set of rate adjustments intended to reduce write‑offs and recover more costs for non‑transport services.
Troy, the county’s ambulance/EMS representative, told the commission one bid from Aero Manufacturing totaled $188,663 including a $174,663 remount and a remanufactured power load priced at $14,000 after a discount. He said $171,000 had already been set aside in a fund and the remainder could be covered in the 2026 budget. Troy also explained the trade‑in chassis is a 2015 model with about 142,000 miles and that the new chassis uses a gasoline engine to avoid diesel exhaust fluid issues.
Commissioners moved and carried a motion to accept the remount quote and proceed with purchase; a minority expressed budgetary hesitancy but the motion passed on a voice vote.
At the same meeting, Troy presented proposed ambulance billing changes, including a $65 fee for basic life‑support assessment with no transport and $95 for advanced assessment no‑transport encounters; event standby rates proposed increase from $100 to $150 per hour; and loaded mileage was proposed to rise from about $18.90 to $22.50 per mile. Troy noted federal and state payer limits: Medicare pays rural ambulance services roughly $485 per paid ambulance call and South Dakota Medicaid pays a lower portion, meaning much of increased billing will affect privately insured patients or patient-pay situations.
Commissioner Don moved to approve the rate adjustments; the motion was seconded and carried by roll call. Commissioners asked staff to implement the new fees and to confirm effective dates once administrative steps are completed.
Provenance: Discussion and vote on the remount and the rate adjustments are recorded beginning SEG 073 (remount introduction) through SEG 220 for the remount vote, and SEG 222–SEG 421 for rates discussion and the rate‑adjustment motion (vote recorded SEG 418–SEG 421).
