WESTMINSTER : City Sets Rates for Paramedic Service
The City Council has set the cost of voluntary paramedic service subscriptions at $36 a year for families and $36 for every 10 employees for businesses.
In a resolution passed by the council on Tuesday, the fees for service for non-subscribers were set at $100 and $150, depending on the extent of the medical treatment given. Under the program, which is similar to an insurance policy, subscribers pay only the annual fee regardless of the number of calls paramedics make, according to the resolution.
Councilwoman Lyn Gillespie said the program would pay the rising costs of emergency medical service.
“It’s really needed. It costs more than $200 (to provide) basic life support, and advanced life support is even more. This brings a little revenue into the city to help defray those costs. For $36 a year the paramedics can come to your house every day. And if you’re not covered, this is a way of recouping those costs,” she said.
The council plans to start the service, which is based on similar programs in Huntington Beach and Orange, on April 1 or May 1, Gillespie said.
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