Assemblyman Billy Jones (D-Chateaugay Lake), with North Country volunteer firefighters, is calling for legislation in Albany that would allow fire departments to recover costs of providing emergency medical services (EMS), specifically ambulance transport services.  

Jones, who represents the towns of Brasher, Hopkinton, Lawrence and Piercefield in St. Lawrence County, is the Assembly sponsor of the Fair Play Ambulance Cost Recovery Act, Assembly Bill A.534-A.

New York State is currently the only state in the nation that does not allow fire departments to recover the costs of ambulance services, said a statement from Jones.

The law would facilitate the recovery of $100 million in EMS costs by local fire departments – with an anticipated 3 million dollars in recovery going to North Country fire departments that provide ambulance service.

“There is no reason why local fire departments should not be able to recover EMS costs,” said Assemblyman Billy Jones. “The inability to recover these costs is creating an undue burden on our local fire departments, many of which are run by volunteers, and this burden is being passed along to taxpayers. Since ambulance services operated by police departments and ambulance departments are able to charge a fee for their services, fire departments should not be singled out and should be permitted to do the same. As costs for services continue to soar, the state must support our local fire departments and change this unjust policy.”

“We thank Assemblyman Jones for his leadership and hard work in carrying this important piece of legislation in the Assembly,” said FASNY Past President Joseph Finnegan, a member of the Madrid Fire Department in St. Lawrence County.  

“Our fire department EMTs and Paramedics spend a substantial amount of time training for and responding to medical emergencies, and fire departments upgrade their equipment continuously to provide the highest level of protection to New Yorkers.  Allowing local fire departments to recover the costs of EMS services will save taxpayers money and allow volunteer departments to continue serving their communities.”

Fire departments provide EMS coverage to nearly half of the state, and many of these departments are smaller, with roughly 90 percent of all fire departments in the State of New York staffed with volunteers. 

 These departments are usually the first to respond to urgent situations, providing medical treatment and transport, the statement from Jones said.

The number of ambulance calls has risen across the state in recent years and the cost of providing EMS services has soared during the COVID-19 pandemic.  While ambulance corps and paid ambulance services are able to bill patients’ medical insurance providers, fire department operated ambulances cannot.  This has left fire districts – and in turn taxpayers - footing the bill for EMS responses.  The ability to bill a patient's insurance and recover the cost of emergency calls will help reduce the burden on taxpayers as well as on fire districts across the state.