County to bid ambulance service
The termination, CareFlite officials said, will not impact emergency medical helicopter service to the county.
Commissioners declined
"I'm bringing this before the full court to decide," Harmon said. "I'm not in favor of renegotiating as I've already been contacted by several other ambulance companies and I think we owe it to our citizens to put it out for bid."
CareFlite, via a
The current contract allows CareFlite to terminate, upon 180 days written notice, if CareFlite has losses, or can demonstrate prospected losses, of
"Our losses on this service will exceed
Although CareFlite is a nonprofit, the reality is that they still have to cover costs, Swartz said.
The specs for the proposal requests should be ready to send out by next week,
Time is of the essence, Commissioner
"We may discuss this all day because we have to get this decided so we have time to get this done," Woolley said. "But let me assure our residents that we will get it done and the county will have ambulance service after September. But we need to take the time to find a company that's fiscally and functionally responsible enough to do business in this county and meet responses. So let's put it out in the market and see what happens."
Woolley and Commissioner
"I've had frustration over the last week or so because I've seen large ads in the Times-Review for the CareFlite memberships, which I consider questionable knowing that you all may or may not be the county's provider after September and that that question is still up in the air," Stringer said.
CareFlite Vice President of Ground Operations
The county last year renegotiated
Going out to bid, Bailey said, could cost the county far more than
"We don't know that," Stringer said. "Let the companies bid and see what they say."
At issue also is the question of non-emergency ambulance transports from Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Cleburne as well as nursing homes and medical clinics within
A city-issued permit is required for a private ambulance provider to perform such services,
Whether the city would provide such a permit to a new company, should CareFlite not be the county's choice after September, is a question that would have to be decided by the
Ambulance providers realize a substantial portion of their revenues providing such services.
"The new provider is going to want that to be part of their portfolio and I can't blame them," Commissioner
Another challenge is the fact that the
CareFlite still operates within
This has raised concerns, Harmon said, given that CFD decided not to honor
"
"When
"We had good service with CareFlite but decisions were made that were never brought to this court by
Another issue revolves around the
CareFlite charges the county
The county owes the city about
Commissioners asked Ishmael to set up a meeting between county and
Commissioner
"I hope CareFlite decides to competitively bid and that they come back and continue to serve the county and that their subscription memberships continue on," Bailey said.
Bailey reiterated that, in his opinion, going with a new provider may result in a high cost and an increase to county taxpayers.
"And it may not," Stringer said. "Having worked as a first responder myself I have the utmost respect for the [CareFlite] people on the front lines. There's no better. But the ideology of the company I will never accept."
___
(c)2017 the Cleburne Times-Review (Cleburne, Texas)
Visit the Cleburne Times-Review (Cleburne, Texas) at www.cleburnetimesreview.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
City to receive FEMA funds
Insurance Council Declares a Catastrophe for Severe Tropical Cyclone Debbie
Advisor News
Annuity News
Health/Employee Benefits News
Life Insurance News