asking questions about
cost of ambulance aid
State panel reviewing all N.J. emergency services
Area residents begin
asking questions about
cost of ambulance aid
By mark rosman
Staff Writer
As questions about the cost of service provided by a private ambulance company are being asked in Monmouth and Ocean counties, a state panel is examining all issues relating to how emergency services are provided in the Garden State.
Issues relating to MONOC (the Monmouth Ocean Hospital Service Corp.) have recently risen in several towns covered by Greater Media Newspapers. Residents of Brick Township, Ocean County and Englishtown aired their concerns about the services MONOC provides, as well as the cost. Several cases appear to be headed for legal action.
Meanwhile, officials in the state Department of Health and Senior Services told Greater Media that its commissioner, Dr. Clifton R. Lacy, had appointed an Emergency Medical Services Council Blue Ribbon Panel, consisting of 15 experts in the field, in January to oversee the issues.
The members of the panel are looking at issues that include access to emergency medical services, quality of care and the cost of those services, according to Karen Halupke, acting director of the state’s Office of Emergency Medical Services.
The panel is expected to make a series of recommendations within the next few months that could bring changes in the way emergency medical services are provided to the state’s residents, said Donna Leusner, press secretary for the Department of Health and Senior Services.
A recent spirited debate between Brick Township residents and representatives from MONOC lead the Brick Township Council to pass a resolution urging state lawmakers to cap the cost of emergency services.
Under the terms of a program established some 30 years ago as a way of providing advanced life support (ALS) services to residents, New Jersey was divided into 31 sections, and each section was assigned an ALS provider. MONOC serves Monmouth and Ocean counties, Leusner said.
Halupke said MONOC operates under two licenses granted by the Department of Health and Senior Services: a license to provide mobile intensive care (ALS services) and a license to provide basic life support (BLS) services. She said the department is responsible for assuring quality of care; there is no statutory regulation that allows the department to have any say in the cost of the services provided.
One of the residents who addressed the Brick Township Council at a recent meeting was Maureen Glover, who said that after complaining of chest pains, the Wall Township EMS responded to her home to take her to Ocean Medical Center, Brick. During the ride, the ambulance was pulled over by MONOC, she said, which assumed the duties of escorting her to the hospital.
Leusner said it is possible that MONOC had been dispatched on the ALS call, but had not arrived before the EMS squad. Subsequently, the ambulances met up and the patient was transferred to MONOC’s advanced care.
In the end, Glover said, she was billed $300 by Wall Township EMS and another $1,589 by MONOC. Both Glover and her insurance company refused to pay the bill, and MONOC sued her, she said.
Sharing a similar story was Brick resident Mary Ellen Patterson, who was billed $1,215 by MONOC for a ride to the hospital. She said she will likely fight the matter in court.
Brick Township residents are not the only people with questions about MONOC. In a letter to the News Transcript, Shirley Komisarczyk of Englishtown wrote about an experience she had last year.
"On Dec. 17, 2002, I had an emergency, called 911 and was already inside an Englishtown-Manalapan First Aid Squad ambulance when a MONOC ambulance showed up. The MONOC representative did absolutely nothing for me, but proceeded to give me a sales talk in which she tried to persuade me to allow her to take me to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, New Brunswick, about 20 miles away, instead of going to CentraState Medical Center, which is about 5 miles from my home. I refused, and the MONOC ambulance left. The first aid squad transported me to CentraState.
"MONOC billed $1,215 to Medicare just for showing up. They received $964.10 from Medicare, $192.82 from Blue Cross/Blue Shield of New Jersey and are dunning me, threatening to sue, for $48.20. On principle, I refuse to pay. They deserve nothing for doing nothing. Medicare cannot correct this situation, but the state Legislature can," Komisarczyk wrote.
MONOC spokesman John DeFillippo said many people tend to underestimate the cost of providing emergency services.
Leusner said the state panel that is now studying how New Jersey provides emergency medical services could recommend that some action relating to the cost of services be taken by the Legislature.
Greater Media Newspapers staff writer Karl Vilacoba contributed to this story.