Coweta County will soon be back in the business of providing ambulance services for the first time in decades. Having contracted with private providers since the 1970s, the Coweta County Commission vote unanimously on Dec. 1 to save substantial money by having the Coweta County Fire Department provide the services beginning in May.
An analysis by consultant Jack Krakeel led to the decision to have the county provide emergency medical services for the first time in decades. At question was the increasing cost involved in having the work done by a private provider and the projection that the county can save money by doing the work in-house.
A Request for Proposal earlier this year resulted in a 300 percent increase in the annual subsidy that currently totals approximately $881,000. County officials at that point called for an evaluation to determine if it would be cost-effective to have the county provide the services in-house.
Krakeel in the detailed presentation noted both the expenses required if the county provided the service and the revenue factors involved and the percentage payer sources, such as Medicare, Medicaid, insurance and private pay, that the county should expect to see.
Assuming a projected 2015 net revenue of $2.615 million, the study showed that hiring nine new full-time paramedics, nine new full-time firefighters, a paramedic supervisor and three dozen part-time personnel (all with cross-training) would result in a net expense of $128,397.
Krakeel’s analysis stressed the need for the county to implement a number of steps, such as hiring a third-part billing contractor, before taking over over ambulance services on May 1.
Krakeel also noted the potential for the county’s ISO rating (on which home insurance premiums are based) to improve and, subsequently, save homeowners on their insurance premiums.
To perform the analysis, Krakeel used a host of data and client-relevant information pertaining to Coweta’s ambulance needs.
Krakeel at the outset of the presentation noted that both the current ambulance provider and the Coweta County Fire Dept. provide excellent services.
Providing a history of the county’s ambulance service, Krakeel said Coweta General Hospital provided ambulance service beginning in 1973. The county in the early 1990s was awarded a state license, since that time, contracted with private companies to provide the service.
