By Masha Yurkevich
When emergencies happen, we often get caught off guard, especially when we see the price afterward. An ambulance ride can cost several hundred dollars, a large chunk of money that can leave many seniors with empty pockets. When the wife of Windham resident and senior Raymond Gillam recently had a medical emergency and needed an ambulance, the price afterward left Gilliam with shock, surprise, and fear. Gilliam previously lived in the town of Standish, which has a program that helps seniors who can’t pay for ambulance rides.
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| A new proposal would cover ambulance costs in Windham not covered by other plans. The proposal would need to be approved by the Windham Town Council and a similar plan already exists. COURTESY PHOTO |
Gillam believes that Windham is behind the times in setting up a program to cover the additional expense because seniors do not file for a hardship claim and just pay what they are told, even if it leaves them with empty pockets.
“And then you add the fact that they’re on a fixed income, too, so consequently if they have to pull $300 out of their monthly budget, they have to replace it by not doing something that needs to be done,” said Gillam.
He also says that he thinks that reason why ambulance rides are so expensive is because you are not only paying for yourself, you’re also paying for yourself and somebody else who did not pay the full price because they simply could not. Medicare pays a certain amount, and the rest is billed to seniors, many of whom are on fixed retirement incomes.
“I’m on a fixed income, too,” said Gillam. “I just have to put off something else that I need to get done.”
He has proposed creating a similar system for Windham that Standish has to cover the additional ambulance expenses for those on fixed incomes.
David Nadeau, a Windham Town Councilor, says that he cannot implement the idea; he can only take the idea and give it to the town manager. Then, if the town manager sees fit, he takes it, puts it together, and presents it to the town council, and then the seven members of the council will have to vote on the idea.
“There is a lot more information that needs to be given,” said Nadeau. “I’ve talked to the fire chief as well as the town manager and have left it in their hands.”
Nadeau says there are a lot of things that need to be looked at including how many people are interested in this program and what would be the cost to town residents to establish such a program? How many rides would be included in the program? How much is it saving people and how much is it costing everybody else? How much of a burden would this put upon Windham taxpayers?
“These questions need to be analyzed prior to making a final decision,” said Nadeau. “Research needs to be done and is currently being done by the town manager to find out if such a program would be beneficial to us.”
The Windham Fire Chief said that it would take a lot of time to administer such a program and at the same time, Windham already has a similar program in place.
“If you cannot afford to pay for your ambulance ride, the Windham Fire Department has a form that you can fill out and if you are eligible, they blow the fees away,” said Nadeau.
Medicare only pays $1,000, and the rest is left to be paid by the person who used the ambulance.
“In our case,” said Nadeau, “that price is about $126. A lot of people, such as myself, have a secondary insurance that picks up that gap. Therefore, there are many people with secondary insurance that are not going to be members and are not going to invest in a program like this because it will not be beneficial to them. I have to look out for 1,800 people and make the choice that is best for them as a whole.”
While the program sounds wonderful upfront, Nadeau said that there is still much research about the topic that is currently being done. <
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