By Pat Hammert/Staff Writer

Within the next two months, El Reno residents and those in surrounding districts that are served by Parkview Ambulance Service will be receiving an invitation to become a subscriber.

The voluntary subscription service is extra insurance in case an ambulance is needed, said Vice Mayor Debbie Harrison. She and Emergency Services Director Ray Simpson presented their proposal to hospital trustees last week.

“A subscriber is not going to receive a bill between what their insurance pays and the actual charges for the ambulance,” she said. “To me, it’s like a mini-insurance policy if, God forbid, my family or I ever need an ambulance.”

Parkview’s service has fielded some financial hard knocks over the past few years as Medicare reimbursements decreased, costs increased and voters failed to approve an emergency medical services district to tap property taxes.

As well, city of El Reno leaders balked for more than a year before providing a one-time subsidy to help the service’s failing bottom line.

“We have to explore options,” Harrison said. “Just because the city came up with a subsidy, that will not take care of the ambulance service long-term. Neither will the subscription service, but we have to see what will happen with this.”

If each of just over 5,000 households in El Reno provides a $5 monthly subscription, the funding could provide some relief for ambulance operation, she said.

Officials estimate — based on subscription memberships in other cities — a typical response could be from about 20 percent of the market. Even at that rate, the fees could be accumulated to purchase a new ambulance or provide maintenance for the fleet, said Parkview Administrator Lex Smith.

Harrison said the subscription program should be set up by July 1. Software will be needed for the ambulance service to establish a membership database, so that a subscriber can be determined at the time of billing.

For a monthly $5 paid through the city’s utility billing, all family members in the home are covered — the householder, the spouse and unmarried children up to age 21. A spouse being cared for in a nursing home may also be covered. As a subscriber, the patient’s emergency transports will be fully covered. Medically necessary non-emergency transports are fully covered if insurance or another third-party payee — Medicare or Medicaid — is used.

If coverage is not available, the subscription member will be charged a reduced fee, or 60 percent of Parkview’s standard non-emergency fee. The subscription service does not cover non-emergency transfers to and from doctor’s offices.

Residents outside El Reno who are in Parkview’s service area will be allowed to pay a yearly $60 to subscribe, she said, but the payment and tracking logistics must be worked out.
Parkview’s service area is the western two-thirds of Canadian County and includes Hinton and Geary.