The Administrative Services Committee approved more stipulations to add to the negotiations for a binding contract with Gold Cross EMS after sometimes heated debate at the Oct. 11 meeting.
The new stipulations include eliminating the use of Quick Response Vehicles, which are smaller SUV’s that paramedics can normally use to get to a scene quickly and stabilize a patient while the ambulance is on route.
The committee also approved asking for a three-year contract renewable annually instead of a 10-year contract, a demand that Gold Cross not use subcontractors, elimination of the six-month compliance period and a $900,000 yearly subsidy to be paid monthly.
The subsidy was by far the largest bone of contention.
According to Gold Cross EMS, around 40% of transports involve indigent or patients with no health insurance and that the subsidy is the only way to cover costs especially with fuel at near record prices.
Since the city caps the amount Gold Cross can charge, the company insists that the subsidy is vital to their operation.
District 7 Commissioner Sean Frantom proposed agreeing to a $1.6 million yearly subsidy as part of the contract, but that suggestion was countered by District 6 Commissioner Ben Hasan who stated that he felt Gold Cross should not receive a subsidy at all.
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“If they don’t think that’s fair, Gold Cross has the right to turn a request into the state and turn it over if it is not profitable to them and give us the opportunity to get the zone back,” Hasan said.
Later, Hasan indicated that he believed that Gold Cross had negotiated with the state behind the city’s back to get the zone privilege that makes them the only private ambulance company to operate in the zone that includes Richmond County.
Augusta Mayor Hardie Davis Jr. then released his own bombshell when he said that ambulance service is not required by statute and therefore not an “essential service.”
“It’s like a private business coming in and building a Burger King and then asking the city to pay for the infrastructure and staffing. That is not the role of government,” Davis said.
Davis went on to claim that 74% of Augusta residents currently have health insurance but did not back up the claim with any official data.
Frantom called the mayor’s oration “ridiculous” and said the mayor had “not a clue” about what he was saying.
“The mayor mentioning Burger King is just a little bit crazy, because they have to pick people up not knowing if they can pay or not, it’s their job and they are legally required to do it. So, I think making a Burger King reference, just like you can shop and choose Burger King, is a bit disrespectful,” Frantom said.
The motion to add the stipulations passed 3 – 1, with Frantom voting no. The measure now goes to the full commission.
Scott Hudson is the senior reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
