Local ambulance official urges support for House Bill 447, cites low reimbursements and surprise bills

An ambulance service official told the Lee County Fiscal Court that local emergency medical services are struggling with reimbursement rates and asked the court to support House Bill 447, which the speaker said would treat emergency ambulance calls as in-network and prevent patients from receiving surprise bills.

"We had a total of the bill, it was a critical patient, the total of the bill was $2,023. We got $77.19 of that," the ambulance official said, using a recent billing example to explain the financial strain. The speaker said billing companies often write off large portions of bills and that Medicaid pays only $2.73 per mile for transport, leaving ground ambulance services without federal funding that hospitals receive.

The official described broader legislative momentum: about 33 states had passed similar laws as of early 2026, and supporters hope Kentucky will follow. The speaker argued the change could roughly double typical run payments (from an example $450 up to $900–$1,000) and help rural services remain solvent.

Board members and other attendees discussed the bill's status in the legislature and encouraged citizens to contact representatives; no formal county resolution was presented during the session. The court's record shows the speaker signed a petition of county support two weeks earlier.

The discussion did not include a formal vote on endorsing the legislation; the recommendation was presented as a matter for local advocacy rather than an adopted county position during this meeting.