To Keep Up with Inflation, Pay EMS Workers, FDNY Proposes Increasing Price of Ambulance Transport: By More than 50%

By Yehudit Garmaise

Inflation and pay raises for the city’s Emergency Medical Service workers have caused the FDNY to propose spiking the bills that New Yorkers pay for ambulance rides from $900 to $1,385: starting this Spring.

The FDNY, which handles 70% of the city’s hospital transports, has expenses of approximately $600 million to pay for its staff and equipment.

The FDNY’s new ambulance rates are expected to create more than $4 million in additional funds during this fiscal year, and more than $16 million for 2024’s full fiscal year, an FDNY spokesperson said.

In addition to the 54% price increase, the FDNY also wants to raise the costs of ambulance rides per mile: from $15 to $20, the New York Post reported.

The costs for advanced life support emergency transports, which require more highly-trained, and therefore higher-paid paramedics who can perform advanced procedures, such as intubating patients and inserting IVs, would see smaller increases, according to the proposal the FDNY released on Tuesday.

The last time the FDNY increase the price of ambulance transports was in 2021, when the ride’ prices increased 16%: from $775 to $900.

Although the FDNY said it wanted to provide pay raises to EMTs, Oren Barzilay, the president of EMS Local 2507, however, questioned whether EMS workers’ raises should be blamed the increase in cost of ambulance transports.

The EMTs’ recent $4,000 raise was “minuscule compared to what other first responders got,” Barzilay said.

In the fiscal year 2022, starting salaries for FDNY EMTs was $39,386.

“FDNY EMS mainly serves communities of people of color,” said Barzilay, adding, “for us to now pass this increase to the public, especially during times when inflation is so high and everything is so expensive, it shows no regard for what the average person is going through.”

“God forbid you get injured or are the victim of an accident and now you get left with these bills.”

“Unfortunately, the fees have to keep up with inflation,” responded Staten Island Councilman Joe Borelli.

NYC residents can weigh in on the FDNY’s proposal on March 24, when a public hearing will be held.

photo credit: Flickr