Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety Finance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Henniker authorizes rescue chief to sign ambulance billing contracts under new state law
Summary
Rescue Chief Greg Aucoin briefed the select board on a new state law (referenced as "SB 2 45") that prohibits balance billing for ground ambulance services and requires municipalities to contract with insurers; the board authorized the rescue chief to execute the state's standard ground ambulance contract and work with billing vendors to collect maximum reimbursement.
The Henniker select board on Jan. 6 authorized Rescue Chief Greg Aucoin to execute ground‑ambulance billing contracts and work with the town’s billing vendor after Aucoin described a recently enacted state measure (referenced in the meeting as "SB 2 45") that changes how ambulance services are billed and reimbursed.
Aucoin said the law, effective Jan. 1, removes balance billing for ground ambulance customers and requires ambulance providers to contract with insurers; the state will also conduct a cost study to set reimbursement rates going forward. Aucoin told the board the immediate administrative step is to sign the state’s standard ground‑ambulance contract so the town can collect at the maximum allowable rate while the state finalizes any long‑term rate setting.
Board members asked whether the change applied to in‑state and out‑of‑state patients and how it would affect collections. Aucoin said the law targets surprise ambulance billing for insured residents and that the local billing vendor has a financial incentive to negotiate favorable collections for the town. He cautioned the long‑term effects are uncertain until the state completes its cost study but said signing the contract will allow the town to collect the current maximum rate.
A motion to authorize the rescue chief to execute the ambulance billing contracts as presented in the staff report was made, seconded and carried unanimously.
