R11315City Council Meeting: January 26, 2021 Santa Monica, California
RESOLUTION NUMBER 11315 (CCS)
(City Council Series)
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA
ESTABLISHING A BLS PARAMEDIC ASSESSMENT FEE AND A DISPOSABLE
MEDICAL SUPPLIES FEE
WHEREAS, it is the policy of the City of Santa Monica (City) to charge for the full
costs of services provided by City Staff when such services benefit individual users,
rather than members of the community as a whole; and
WHEREAS, the Santa Monica Fire Department (SMFD) responds to over 15,000
calls a year for medical emergencies, fires, transportation accidents, and other
emergency calls; and
WHEREAS, approximately 70% of the calls received by SMFD are for
Emergency Medical Services (EMS); and
WHEREAS, the City’s daytime visitor population often rises from 93,000
residents to over 250,000 visitors on any given day; and
WHEREAS, a significant portion of the EMS calls are for non-resident visitors to
the City; and SMFD provides two levels of EMS, including Basic Life Support (BLS) and
Advanced Life Support (ALS); and
WHEREAS, SMFD delivers EMS via ALS capable engine companies whose
personnel consist of at least two licensed paramedics; and
DocuSign Envelope ID: 35BCF375-0AB7-4465-8CA2-3F3299F863E8
WHEREAS, the SMFD provides ALS through licensed paramedics who can,
among other things, administer intravenous medication, intubate, and provide cardiac
monitoring to a patient; and
WHEREAS, the SMFD dispatches an ALS engine company with two licensed
paramedics along with the contracted ambulance provider to ensure that the highest
level of care can be provided; and
WHEREAS, if a patient requires ALS a SMFD paramedic accompanies the
patient in the ambulance and continues treatment en route to a medical facility; and
WHEREAS, if a patient requires BLS, the ambulance provider and their two
emergency medical technicians accompany the patient to a medical facility without a
SMFD paramedic; and
WHEREAS, in 2020 approximately 56% of EMS transports requiring care
resulted in BLS transports; and
WHEREAS, the County of Los Angeles has established a maximum allowable
BLS Transport Fee of $1,695 and a maximum allowable ALS Transport Fee of $2,540
for applicable cities; and
WHEREAS, the City, however, has the legal right to establish its own ambulance
transportation fees; and
WHEREAS, the City has customarily charged an ALS Response Fee that aligns
with the rates set by Los Angeles County; and
WHEREAS, for each ALS transport, the SMFD receives an ALS Response Fee
of $845 based on the current fee schedule; and
DocuSign Envelope ID: 35BCF375-0AB7-4465-8CA2-3F3299F863E8
WHEREAS, the current ALS Response fee reflects the difference between the
County’s ALS Transport Fee of $2,540 and the County’s BLS Transport Fee of $1,695;
and
WHEREAS, the ambulance provider bills an ALS patient for the ambulance
provider’s services and the ALS Response Fee on behalf of the City; and
WHEREAS, on a BLS transport a BLS patient pays the BLS Fee to the
ambulance provider; and
WHEREAS, the SMFD does not currently charge patients for responding to calls,
conducting paramedic assessments, or assisting ambulance providers to prepare a
patient for a BLS transport and does not receive any portion of the BLS Fee paid to the
ambulance provider; and
WHEREAS, in providing both ALS and BLS services, the SMFD also incurs costs
for disposable medical supplies provided by the City; and
WHEREAS, the City has retained MGT Consulting in connection with a City-wide
comprehensive cost of service study; and
WHEREAS, MGT Consulting has studied and determined that the City’s cost in
providing paramedic assessments that lead to a BLS transport is $640; and
WHEREAS, the neighboring cities of Beverly Hills and Torrance charge a similar
paramedic assessment fee; and
WHEREAS, a proposed BLS Paramedic Assessment Fee of $640 for patients
receiving a paramedic assessment and transported for BLS would enable the City to
recover some of the costs in providing EMS; and
DocuSign Envelope ID: 35BCF375-0AB7-4465-8CA2-3F3299F863E8
WHEREAS, the proposed BLS Paramedic Assessment Fee of $640 would result
in an estimated annual cost recovery of approximately $300,000; and
WHEREAS, the City’s costs for disposable medical supplies on average exceed
$29 per patient transported for ALS or BLS depending on the type of care provided; and
WHEREAS, the County has established a flat fee of $29 as an acceptable fee for
disposable medical supplies for all transports; and
WHEREAS, the ambulance provider currently charges each patient transported a
$29 disposable medical supplies fee; and
WHEREAS, the City incurs varying costs by supplying various disposable
medical supplies on every ALS and BLS transport; and
WHEREAS, other cities partially recover the costs of disposable medical supplies
provided by charging patients a $29 disposable medical supplies fee; and
WHEREAS, in adopting a proposed disposable medical supplies fee a
transported patient will continue to incur the same $29 fee for disposable medical
supplies that the ambulance provider currently charges and retains; and
WHEREAS, the proposed disposable medical supplies fee will assist the City in
recovering its costs in providing disposable medical services on each ALS and BLS
transport; and
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES
RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. A BLS Paramedic Assessment Fee of $640 is hereby established
for patients receiving a paramedic assessment that are transported for BLS service; and
DocuSign Envelope ID: 35BCF375-0AB7-4465-8CA2-3F3299F863E8
SECTION 2. A new Disposable Medical Supplies Fee of $29 is hereby
established for all patients transported for ALS or BLS; and
SECTION 3. All fees established by this resolution will take effect on February 1,
2021; and
SECTION 4. The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this Resolution and
thenceforth and thereafter the same shall be in full force and effect.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
George Cardona
Interim City Attorney
DocuSign Envelope ID: 35BCF375-0AB7-4465-8CA2-3F3299F863E8
Adopted and approved this 26th day of January 2021.
__________________________
Sue Himmelrich, Mayor
I, Denise Anderson-Warren, City Clerk of the City of Santa Monica, do hereby
certify that Resolution No. 11315 (CCS) was duly adopted at a meeting of the Santa
Monica City Council held on the 26th day of January 2021, by the following vote:
AYES: Councilmembers Brock, Davis, De la Torre, McKeown, Parra,
Mayor Pro Tem McCowan, Mayor Himmelrich
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
ATTEST:
_____________________________________
Denise Anderson-Warren, City Clerk
DocuSign Envelope ID: 35BCF375-0AB7-4465-8CA2-3F3299F863E8