Select Board adopts updated ambulance billing and hardship policy

The Select Board voted Feb. 3 to adopt an updated ambulance service billing collection and financial hardship policy (referred to in the packet as the Hill Burton policy) that updates standards for hardship relief and clarifies administrative practice.

Chief presented the revised policy as a consolidation of best practices from comparable departments and said it strengthens nondiscrimination language and ties hardship thresholds to the federal poverty guidelines, which change annually. The chief described a graduated approach (examples cited in the discussion included 125%–150% of poverty as a flexible standard and, for a more lenient approach, a possible 200%–300% sliding scale).

Board members asked for an annual review schedule; the policy was adopted with language to review rates and policy yearly in December or on an ad hoc basis. One member asked for clearer impact expectations on write-offs and nonresponse balances; the chief noted that many small balances (under roughly $300) are often written off and that the revised policy avoids direct debtor outreach that had raised compliance concerns under the old policy.

The motion to adopt the ambulance billing and hardship policy, moved and seconded, passed on a roll-call vote. The board thanked the chief for returning with updated language and asked staff to implement the annual review process and report any future legislative changes that might require earlier revision.