HARLINGEN — After more than 40 years, the city’s ambulance company is facing the non-renewal of its contract as members of the city commission’s new majority plan to allow competition into town.
On Wednesday, City Commissioners Frank Puente and Richard Uribe are planning to call on commissioners to consider the non-renewal of the South Texas Emergency Care Foundation’s contract, whose expiration is set for September 2022.
For years, a city ordinance has given STEC exclusive rights to provide ambulance service in town, granting police the power to warn or cite outside ambulance companies entering the city limits.
Now, commissioners are mulling terminating STEC’s contract before its expiration date.
“The contract may end before the expiration date,” Puente said Monday.
STEC strongly denies contract breach
Commissioners are reviewing the contract to determine whether STEC may have breached its agreement, Puente said.
“The question is, has there been a breach,” he said. “There may be issues they haven’t provided.”
Puente said he believes STEC hasn’t complied with a contract stipulation requiring the company provide commissioners with its financial information.
“We should have access to some of their financial information,” he said. “At this time, I don’t feel we’ve received it.”
However, Randy Whittington, the attorney representing STEC, said the company has complied with its contract.
“We’ve done everything the contract requires us to do,” he said.
Commissioners can review the company’s financial information at its offices, Whittington said.
“The information is available upon request,” he said. “They have to come to STEC to review all financial information. That’s why we have a representative of the city on the (STEC) board.”
Push to open city to outside ambulance companies
Meanwhile, Puente said commissioners plan to allow outside ambulance companies into town.
For months, members of the commission’s new majority have argued some residents have complained of slow response times to non-emergency calls while ambulances waited for short-staffed hospitals to open patient beds during the coronavirus pandemic.
Whittington said complaints were limited to a “handful.”
Commissioners are pushing to allow outside ambulance companies offering lucrative non-emergency transport service into town to offer residents a choice when it comes to calling for help.
Competition could help bring down rates, they’ve argued.
During the summer, a McAllen ambulance company offered to transport a nursing home resident to Houston hospital for $2,700 while STEC was charging $4,500, Commissioner Rene Perez said.
Competition could force city to help fund 911 service
Meanwhile, STEC officials have warned competition would cut into revenue generated through its non-emergency transport service which helps fund its emergency ambulance runs.
Mayor Chris Boswell, who is standing behind STEC, said a move to open the doors to competition could lead the city to help fund emergency ambulance service.
For years, the city paid STEC as much as $500,000 a year to provide ambulance service here, he said.
Then 10 years ago, the company began charging its patients, instead.
About four years ago, STEC boosted its rates to range from $795 for basic life support to $1,220 in the area where about half its patients are on Medicare and Medicaid, which reimburses about a third of billings, Leonard Callier, the company’s deputy executive director, said, describing rates as based on “one of the lowest fee schedules in the Valley.”
Background
In 1979, city leaders founded STEC to provide ambulance service in town.
Today, the nonprofit which offers ambulance service across most of Cameron County, stations eight to 11 ambulances in the Harlingen area, officials said.
Agreements with other regional emergency services companies offer the city back-up ambulance service, they said.
Meanwhile, STEC’s annual $4.5 million payroll funds the positions of 90 employees, including 64 paramedics and emergency medical technicians whose salaries range from $48,000 to $66,000.
