----- Original Message ----- From: "Bill Radosevich" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> I took the liberty of forwarding the original post to a friend at the FD, > and was asked to post this message in reply to Dorie Rae Gallagher's > posting. > Bill, Please take the libery to pass on my response...thanks >> > Dear Ms. Gallagher, > > I was forwarded your email regarding the $400.00 charge the Fire Department > files with insurance companies against an insured's personal injury accident > fund. As you may not know, the Minneapolis Fire Department averages 34,000 > calls a year. Of these, 24,000 are 911 requests for emergency medical care. > We are proud to respond to calls for example of shortness of breath where we > administer life-saving oxygen, diabetics in need of sugar where we > administer oral glucose, cardiac arrest patients who require a shock from a > defibrillator or victims of car accidents who may need nothing more than a > physical assessment and in worst case scenarios, extrication from the > vehicle. Dorie writes..this is good, you are providing a medical service.... > In order to provide this service, each one of our firefighters are initially > trained as Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT)'s and then annually they are > required to undergo extensive continuing education requirements to meet the > State of Minnesota's EMT-Refresher curriculum. We take this responsibility > seriously and we are dedicated to our mission, which of course is to save > lives and protect property. Up until a year ago, we have provided this > service free-of-charge. Unfortunately with the changes in local government > aid, we have been forced to find alternate sources of revenue, just to keep > firefighters on fire trucks and responding to emergency medical calls as > well as fires. >dorie writes...the first half of the post is wonderful until a year ago. There is no reason the city can not provide the MFD with the taxes being paid in this city. That is my complaint. This was passed without having a full policy in place of whether or not the insurance companies were going to pay for this. It was passed in the City Council with the understanding it was to be covered. No one knows about this little additional revenue that has been tacked on to the taxpayer. No one knows about people having to come up with this revenue for the MFD. Let's be fair...add $400.00 on to everyones taxes that go directly to the MFD. No, it would not work because our leaders would be creaming that sum off the top for some project of height. > We are not eligible under current law for reimbursement through medical > insurance because we do not transport patients. The State does provide Fire > Department's reimbursement for car accidents from automobile insurance > companies. The law does not allow discrimination of this charge and we are > therefore required to charge the same for all victims of all car accidents, > regardless of whether they are a City resident or not. dorie...This was not a car accident, according to my insurance company there was nothing they could put down for coding. My insurance company wanted to help me with this, I don't believe that not transporting was the problem... but the MFD came up blank with what they did! What law...where is the law that covers this charge. Who made up the law and when/ where was it written? Give me some facts and guide me to the written word so I can read this for myself. You're right...there should be no discrimination between resident or none. Insurance companies > do reimburse this fee, up to the personal injury fund limit of $20,000.00. > Once that amount is exhausted, reimbursement is ceased. Our nominal $400.00 > fee for response and evaluation of a victim's medical complaints does not > cover our expenses. On any given personal injury response, you may find > anywhere from one to three fire trucks with 4 - 12 Firefighter/EMT's. On > average, vehicle extrication if required, will take up to 1 or more hours > and requires extensive hydraulic equipment and rescue expertise. dorie...Then charge them...you have a reason to charge. But that can be recouped by insurance. If I had been pinned in a car crash, you bet...I would be the first to pay the MFD along with homemade cookies for a year. But assess the situation! If you have no coding and it can't be paid for by insurance because nothing was done, only the fact that the city has given you the right to charge for this because they have other priorities...with the tax dollar...this is the issue! > > Certainly, our goal is not to get rich or inconvenience the citizens we > serve but simply to offset costs of providing this service and to continue > the exemplary patient care the citizens of Minneapolis have grown > accustomed. As always, we have excused this charge for anyone that > demonstrates a financial hardship and if that is the case in your case, we > will do the same. I am very sorry for your experience and I thank you for > your understanding as we all struggle to survive. dorie..I truly feel that this is the city's mismanagement. I would like to know how many people have paid for this out of pocket. These are people who have already suffered trauma only to find out their tax dollar is not being spread to the MFD. When I think of the property taxes I pay /have paid and the one time I have needed any type of public service or help; to be slapped with this fee is beyond my comprehension. This is not in anyway a fault of the MFD. The guys were great and I appreciated the fact they came even tho, my neighbor called 911 for a ambulance. We knew we did not need the fire department. This is a lacking in our city government to take care of the very people it should be watching out for...just too busy building for others. Dorie Rae Gallagher Nokomis > > <end) > > REMINDERS: > 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. > 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. > > For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html > For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract > ________________________________ > > Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy > Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
