Legislation would help paramedic programs

Susan Van Orden's letter "New Jersey First Aid Council opposes legislation" (Jan. 5) does not address the root causes of the paramedic funding issue that prompted the introduction of the paramedic transport bills, S-2302 and A-3749.

For each patient in New Jersey needing advanced emergency services, paramedics provide advanced life support (ALS) services such as intubation and intravenous medications, while the basic life support (BLS) ambulance transports the patient to the hospital.

Paramedics are left with little Medicare reimbursement for their ALS treatment because if both the BLS ambulance agency and paramedic program bill the patients for their services, Medicare favors the agency that transports the patient. New Jersey presently does not allow paramedics to transport.

The erosion of volunteerism and economic pressures faced by towns have caused many of the BLS volunteer ambulance services in New Jersey to be replaced with BLS programs that bill for their services, such as commercial ambulance companies and municipal first aid squads, including some volunteer squads.

When BLS entities bill Medicare, they take away most of the reimbursement from paramedic programs. Unlike many of the municipal first aid squads, paramedic programs are not subsidized by tax money but rely on the reimbursement they receive from patient care to survive.

Residents who have come to trust paramedic care when they call 911 with a critical emergency deserve an immediate solution. As more towns switch to paid BLS, trying to help beleaguered paramedic programs is prudent.

While waiting for the results of a state study and the hopeful implementation of permanent, positive change, New Jersey residents should support temporary solutions such as the paramedic transport bills by contacting their legislators.

Vincent D. Robbins

president and CEO

Monmouth-Ocean

Hospital Service Corp.

Wall Township