EMS board forgives bill for patient’s pricey lift home

In the “All’s Well That Ends Well” Dept., the powers that be in local EMS World forgave Bernie Hague’s $343 bill for a ride from Kootenai Medical Center to his CdA home, two miles away. Remember? Bernie (Huckleberries, Sept. 24) was rushed by ambulance to KMC when he began suffering shortness of breath in mid-August – only to accept an offer of a ride with a firefighter when he was released 90 minutes later. His insurance company picked up the $527 tab for the inbound ride. But not the bill for the return trip. Bernie was flabbergasted when he saw the second billing, for a ride that would cost about $6 by taxi. On Friday, CdA Fire Chief Kenny Gabriel told Huckleberries that the EMS Joint Powers Board decided to waive the second billing Thursday. And that EMS Chief Tom Greif promptly called Bernie with the news. E-mails Kenny: “You should know we were trying to help Mr. Hague with this prior to its appearance in Huckleberries, and we had had discussions with the county and the hospital on the matter.” Two days earlier, Kenny had e-mailed that Greif had called Bernie to explain that “our folks have nothing to do with any billing. It was at the request of an ER nurse that we take Mr. Hague back home as we agree we do not want folks charged twice. When someone from ER requests any type of a transport, a call is generated, which in turn generates a bill. All of this is done through the Kootenai County Emergency Medical System, not the CDA FD.” And: “Please know it is not the policy of the CDA FD to do anything but deliver superior customer service at all times.” Case closed.