FDNY proposes increase in the price it charges for ambulance services

The Fire Department of New York will hold a public hearing March 24 on a proposal to raise the rate it bills patients and insurers for emergency medical services, Gothamist reports. The FDNY wants to bill $1,385 for an ambulance ride on which a patient is provided with basic life support – a 54% increase over the current rate of $900. The agency is seeking less dramatic rate hikes, between 4% and 10%, for ambulance rides with different levels of advanced life support. Those rides already cost upwards of $1,500 apiece.