By Dave Bullard/WRVO
SYRACUSE, NY – The owners of TLC Emergency Services are not fans of Governor Andrew Cuomo's plan to cut Medicaid spending as part of an overall plan to fill a $9 billion state budget deficit.
TLC operates ambulance services in Onondaga, Cortland and Cayuga counties and provides medical transport services throughout the region.
"We already lose money on Medicaid patients," explained Lon Fricano, TLC's Director of Operations and a paramedic.
He said that state law limits what TLC will receive from the state for transporting Medicaid patients and the limit is below the company's cost of providing the service. On top of that, he said that 40% of the company's bills will never be paid.
The result is that people who have private insurance and people who pay cash for medical services pay much more, perhaps double, to make up for the loss of money from Medicaid patients.
If TLC is going to receive even less from Medicaid after the state budget is approved, Fricano says the company may be forced to run fewer ambulances in order to cut its payroll. He says that will only hurt the poorest people.
"If we have to cut back on services, that's going to increase response times," Fricano said. "Increased response times lead to greater mortality and morbidity. So who's really paying the price for this? What are you really gaining?"
And if people get sicker because of slower response times, they'll require more care, Fricano said, which will drive up the cost of Medicare.
"They made this mess," he said, of state and federal legislators, "and now they're looking to pass the buck."