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Resident clarifies ambulance billing and ARPA grant disbursements during public comment
Summary
During public comment Mary Heath clarified that the County does not pay ambulance bills; providers bill Medicare/Medicaid/private insurers and the County only assists with billing confirmation. She said funds given to Penacook Rescue Squad were ARPA grants administered by the County rather than payments from county tax revenue.
Mary Heath used the public-comment period at the Jan. 21 meeting to clarify earlier statements about ambulance billing and grant disbursements. "The County does not pay for calls," Heath said, explaining that providers submit bills to Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Medicaid and private insurers and that the County’s role is limited to assisting billers in confirming required information.
Heath said that funds given to Penacook Rescue Squad were disbursed from ARPA grant money administered by the County and not from the County’s tax-funded operating budget. Chair Selectman Jim Hoyt and Selectman David Hostetler pressed for clarification about whether the ARPA funds were applied only to Boscawen’s portion of services; Heath replied that Penacook Rescue received ARPA funds and that multiple organizations received grants for different purposes.
Hoyt said he was concerned Salisbury should not be subsidizing calls unless an agreed-upon sharing arrangement included all towns in the county. Hostetler and Heath both noted the issue had been discussed previously at other meetings and that a billing conversation with Penacook Rescue Squad would be appropriate.
The board did not take any formal action during the Jan. 21 meeting as a result of the comment; the exchange clarified the distinction between ARPA grant disbursements and county tax-funded payments.
