YES ON 7A YES ON 7A YES ON 7A
What Are We Asking For?
Information on Ballot Question 7A
A One-Half Cent Sales Tax
to Fund, Sustain and Improve Ambulance Services!
Our Family Caring for Your Family!
- Essential community emergency service!
- Superior Paramedics & EMTs – some of the Best in the State!
- Outstanding patient care!
- Exceptional physician driven medical direction!
- Aggressive medical treatment protocols!
- Strong partnerships with law enforcement, Fire Protection and Hospitals!
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Please Support Your Ambulance! Vote YES on 7A
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District Resident Benefits:
- No balance billing after insurance pays!
- Deductible write-offs are MONEY in your POCKET used for other medical expenses!
- No more collection agency efforts for district residents!
- Sales taxes off-set by lower property taxes by lower Residential Assessment Rates!
- Provides long-term consistent & stable funding to fund, sustain & improve ambulance services!
- Non-residents pay for services they consume!
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Please Support Your Ambulance! Vote YES on 7A
We Aren’t Alone!
- Chaffee County Ambulance – half-cent sales tax (2016);
- Tri-Lakes Fire & EMS – mill levy increase (2017);
- Clear Creek County Ambulance – half-cent sales tax (2017);
- South Park Ambulance District – mill levy increase (2018);
- Eagle County Paramedic Services – mill levy increase (2016); and,
- Durango Fire & Rescue – mill levy increase (2017).
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Please Support Your Ambulance! Vote YES on 7A
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Why Do We Need It?
- Call volume is rising;
- Multiple ambulances needed at the same time
- 40% concurrent call rate leaving NO Ambulances to Cover;
- No ambulances available on average 8 hours every day!
- 60 calls un-answered last year!
- More Paramedics & Ambulances are Needed!
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Please Support Your Ambulance! Vote YES on 7A
Why Do We Need It?
- Response times worsening especially in Woodland Park and Divide areas;
- Multiple calls occurring at the same time prolongs response times; and,
- Additional ambulance is needed in Woodland Park/Divide area to lower response times & improve service!
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Please Support Your Ambulance! Vote YES on 7A
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Why Do We Need It?
- Ambulance service costs climbing!
- Ambulance services have been cut!
- Cut one on-duty ambulance;
- Cut paramedic & EMT raises;
- Cut medical training & education;
- Cut facility improvements & repairs;
- Cut ambulance, cardiac monitor & other essential patient care equipment purchases; and,
- More Cuts expected if revenues don’t improve!
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Please Support Your Ambulance! Vote YES on 7A
Ambulance Bills Rise-Payments Decline!
- Higher Ambulance Bills Don’t Generate Higher Payments!
- Medicare & Medicaid pay significantly below cost! Patients can’t be balanced billed for unpaid amounts;
- Unpaid amounts from Medicare and Medicaid are shifted to those who can pay through higher ambulance bills and service cuts;
- Even insurance is paying less leaving more for patients to pay; and,
- Higher rates and lower payments decreases the value of the 50% Resident Discount Program.
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Payer Mix Worsening!
- Payer mix refers to primary payer types, Medicare, Medicaid, private, and insurance;
- Affordable Care Act worsens payments;
- 80% of payers are low, below cost, paying Medicare, Medicaid and private pay (un-insured);
- Only 20% of payers are private insurance & insurance paying less; and,
- As payer gap widens payments will worsen and ambulance services will decline!
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Please Support Your Ambulance! Vote YES on 7A
So Why Does This Matter?
Medicare & Medicaid patients don’t have to worry about their ambulance bills; but, they do have to worry about receiving service!
Please Support Your Ambulance! Vote YES on 7A
The Big Picture of Payer Mix
Medicare & Medicaid are the fastest growing “insured” groups & will devastate future ambulance funding!
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Non-Resident Visitors Consume Services Without Paying!
- Consume 36% of ambulance services (2017);
- Left local taxpayers holding the bag for $500,000 worth of unpaid costs (2017);
- Between 2008-2017 they consumed $4,028,802 (3.5 years) of property taxes subsidies;
- Tie up limited recourses otherwise available for district resident use;
- Residents pay higher taxes and bills due to unpaid use!
- Visitors would pay sales taxes that support your ambulance!
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Please Support Your Ambulance! Vote YES on 7A
Property Tax Cuts Worsen Ambulance Funding!
- Front range urban growth worsens services in rural areas;
- Residential Assessment Rate (RAR) drop from 7.96% to 7.2% (2018) lowers property taxes & ambulance revenue;
- Future RAR drops (6.1% in 2020) and beyond worsens ambulance revenues;
- Property taxes collected in 2023 are projected to be the same as collected in 2007 with higher costs; and,
- Services will worsen as revenues decline!
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Please Support Your Ambulance! Vote YES on 7A
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How are high cost ambulance services provided when…
- Expenses keep rising & revenues keep declining?
- Patients expect services when they call for them?
- Payers and patients don’t pay for the services provided?
- Non-resident visitors consume services but don’t pay?
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Please Support Your Ambulance! Vote YES on 7A
Support Your Ambulance!
- Support a Half-Cent Sales Tax For Your Ambulance and Receive:
- District Resident Insurance Only Billing Program no out-of-pocket costs after insurance pays !
- No More Collection Agencies for District Residents!
- Only $150/Year if you spend $30,000!
- Improved Ambulance Services when you need them!
- Faster Response Times when seconds count!
- Superior Care by outstanding paramedics and EMTs!
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