Ambulance rates going up July 1

User fees for the Clear Lake Ambulance Service will likely be going up, effective July 1.

The Clear Lake City Council unanimously passed the first of three readings of an ordinance Monday night which seeks to better offset the costs of the service.

City Administrator Scott Flory explained the amendment to an ordinance passed in July 2018 will affect Wellmark and private insurers, which represents about 20 percent of the users of the ambulance service.  The increase will help to close the gap between the city’s costs and the amount paid by Medicaid and Medicare.

The cost for non-emergency (basic life support and advanced life support) service will remain at $400 and $600 respectively, however the cost charged for emergency transport will increase from $595 to $625 (BLS) and $706 to $750 (ALS).

The costs of non-emergency transport would stay steady, with the basic life support fee being $400 and the advanced life support fee being $600.

Ambulance service at the “Advanced Life Support 2” level, which typically includes the administration of medically necessary services, would go up from $1,023 to $1,100.

The “loaded mileage charge” would also increase from $13 to $13.50.