Presbyterian ambulance organization strikes tentative deal with PRC

Apr. 29—A nonprofit ambulance provider run by Presbyterian Healthcare Services could see a 65% rate increase after the organization came to a settlement with the state Public Regulation Commission's staff.

Albuquerque Ambulance Service had requested a 100% hike in its ambulance rates and a 25% increase in its mileage rates in January.

PRC staff in a February report recommended a 35% increase in ambulance rates and a 10% increase in mileage. The agreement — to raise base fees by 65% and mileage rates by 15% — marks a compromise.

The increase would place Albuquerque Ambulance Service's rates — already higher than others in the region — at nearly double the statewide averages.

The statewide average base rate for emergency transportation of a patient is $512; Albuquerque Ambulance Service's current base rate of $566.40 would rise to $934.56.

The nonprofit's mileage rate would increase from $11 to $12.65, just under the current statewide average of $12.75.

Albuquerque Ambulance Service bills itself on its website as "the largest and busiest provider of emergency 9-1-1 and non-emergency medical services" in the state. The Presbyterian-affiliated organization provides medical transport throughout the region, including in Santa Fe, Rio Arriba and Sandoval counties.

It requested a rate hike of 175% in August before amending its request to 100% in January, citing a retroactive increase to Medicaid reimbursement rates announced last fall by the state Human Services Department.

Executives at Albuquerque Ambulance Service have testified during the rate case the organization has operated at a loss — subsidized by Presbyterian — for four years due to increasing costs for labor and supplies. The company's most recent rate increase was approved in 2014.

The nonprofit's executives and PRC staff signed onto the settlement earlier this month, agreeing the 65% increase would "generate revenues adequate to cover operating expenses and allow for a reasonable return on investment."

The deal still requires approval from the three-member commission.