With concerned employees standing and wrapped around the table, the future of emergency medical services and the workforce pay in and around Hopkinsville brimmed into a heated discussion during Wednesday morning’s Christian County Ambulance Board meeting.
In the end, officials opted 4-1 to table cost conversations through the next four months — in order to let a familiar company, 911 Billing Services out of Madisonville, gain traction following a departure from Change Healthcare.
The decision came after more than an hour of conversation.
Citing a massive increase in percentage of salaries to revenue — up from 60% in 2022 to 97% in 2024 — Chairman Darrell Gustafson was the lone “nay.” He noted that EMS revenue has been “flat for nine years,” and that the board was posed with only two options: reorganize and get it right, or outsource EMS. And he “wants to save jobs.”
Gustafson also noted that the Hopkinsville city budget has a 5% raise from Fiscal Year 2023, and a 6.5% raise in Fiscal Years 2024 and 2025 — totaling 18% over 36 months.
Magistrate Phillip Peterson, Hopkinsville Fire Chief Steve Futrell and City Councilman Travis Martin were among those in this discussion.
Martin brought up a previous statement made by Hopkinsville Mayor J.R. Knight, with City Administrator Troy Body offering comment.
The state’s second largest county, and eighth largest city, also aren’t responsible for an ambulance tax. Could one be in the future? Martin brought the concept up to the panel.
Prior to this vote, 911 Billing Services Chief Operating Officer Beverly Basham came to talk about their 25-year, family-owned and operated company. She said that after reviewing Christian County policies and internal claims, this administration has and had been “top notch on the front end,” especially compared to peers.
Basham said the next 4-to-6 weeks will see coding for Medicare and ESO “flipped on,” and with those flips turned, claims can be pushed out going back to February 21 without disrupting back claims.
Furthermore, she noted the revenue increase should be $540,000 “on the conservative side,” and up to $1.1 million — roughly equating to an increase revenue of $50-to-$100 per billable claim.
Peterson ushered caution.
Basham said Hopkinsville’s recent news “became personal” for them, and played a key role in them reaching out to Hopkinsville officials.
Futrell, Gustafson and others noted that Hopkinsville originally deviated from 911 Billing Services all those years ago…because their platform wouldn’t recognize ESO coding due to a lack of computer integration.
Over the last few months, Futrell said the relationship with Change had splintered.
The board also approved a one-year loan from the city, following lengthy analysis from Treasurer Melissa Clayton. She issued that House Bill 8 revenues aren’t enough to sustain EMS costs, and that as of Wednesday, the bank balance hovered around $400,000.
And how busy has Hopkinsville Fire/EMS been just in the last 16 days? Futrell said the department is averaging 37 calls a day, or one every 39 minutes, and that they have been out of ambulances “every day,” with all calls served, but some facing delays.
A few hours after the meeting, Knight delivered a written statement to the public, in which he agreed that it is “imperative [to] address the financial challenges facing the EMS department,” and that he is committed to working collaboratively with the ambulance board, county officials and community representatives to find a mutually beneficial solution.
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