Fear of Hospitals Driving Changes for Ambulance Pay in Medicare

Ambulance companies, losing money as patients increasingly refuse to be taken to hospitals during the coronavirus pandemic, want Congress to help them get reimbursed as emergency responders in the field.

Emergency crews are finding people wary of hospitals out of fear of contracting Covid-19 there, ambulance groups say. As a result, many are being asked to treat people on the spot for minor injuries or simple cases such as dehydration, something the companies are rarely paid for.

“The driving force is being scared of being around people who have Covid,” Hanan Cohen, director of corporate development at Empress EMS of ...