No free rides for ambulance riders

OXFORD — Oxford has decided to get tough on delinquent ambulance fees, as the Board of Selectmen unanimously approved a measure to send more than $28,000 to collections.

"I tell you what really irks you, is when somebody gets in an accident, they get their services, they get a check to cover their services, and then they keep the check," said Town Manager Michael Chammings during a February 17 meeting of the Board of Selectmen. "And they never pay the town to begin with."

Chammings says that when the town of Oxford bills an insurance company for an ambulance ride, the company writes a check to the person who rode in that ambulance.

But, in many instances, the person then neglects to pay a bill to the town for that ambulance ride.

Citizen Marilyn Colby suggested that, in some cases, a lag between the arrival of the check and the arrival of the subsequent bill could lead to failure to pay.

In one case of which she has personal knowledge, said Colby "the insurance company sent a check to the people, and then they waited from October 'til last week before they got a bill from the billing company in Windham."

In a case like that, said Colby, the financial pressures that come with living a hand-to-mouth existence create a temptation to spend the money before the bill comes due.

"If they got their check the first of November for an accident for a ride in October, I can see why some of the money is not showing up, because they're cashing those long before the time they get the bill," said Colby. "That's a long time."

"But you know that money is not your money," responded Chammings. "It's to pay for the services."

Chammings said that he would check with the billing company, Medical Reimbursement Services of Windham, to discuss the lag time.

He also said that most people are able to work within the system to successfully pay for their ambulance rides.

"Most people turn the checks in," he said.

The amount that will be sent to collections is $28,178.