Emergency Medical Services and the States Ambulance/Personel, Regulation Structure.

The contents in this post description below was posted July 16th. 2009 by Candidate for Kansas Governor, Herbert West 3rd.

I have severe concerns about the privatization of the Ambulance Services in Kansas. These companies getting contracts are Corporate based out of State. They are allowed to follow weird rules and the Kansas Board of E.M.S. refuses to look at our safety. They look at money. They allow Ambulance Services to discriminate and charge people based on their body size. That is very disturbing. The Board has walked away from the National Standard when it comes to Pre-Hospital health care. The National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians is utilized in 43 States and Kansas refuses to follow their Standards. I for one, was denied care as a patient. I was billed over $18,000.00 for an accident I had. I was refused care in the beginning and pushed out of an E.R. because my insurance was filed wrong by the State. After I got the insurance fixed, about 6 months after the car crash, the State paid the Hospital and the Ambulance Service $18,000.00. I did not receive the care that they billed for. I see this on a regular basis. I see Ambulance Services charging double on Ambulance Bills. I keep seeing more and more Services being sold and privatized. They are being allowed to deny care and are being allowed to skim tax money. The Government, City/County owned and operated Services function properly, and they bill fairly. They actually care about the citizens in their community. Alot of these Private Services care about, money and that's is all they care about. They demand insurance information before the control bleeding, or even before they start C.P.R.. HHS Sebelius wants to privatize our Health care. I hope to prove and show where this is detrimental to our safety. When these Services are allowed to bill us double, the Insurance Companies have to raise our premiums. When these Services refuse to follow the same Standard of Care, we are in the Hospital longer. This increases our premiums. The Hospitals charge us more for Hospital care because they are hit with a bigger patient load. It is like the State sold us for, increased premiums. The Insurance Companies don't seem to mind. They get a percentage of our premiums as a commission when they sell us insurance. The more they are allowed to charge, the more they get. Privatization of our Government Resources needs to be stopped. We need to look at our Health care and the Motives of our Elected Officials who are selling our very lives from out from under us. Do you realize that the average Ambulance Personnel member gets 32 hours a week in overtime? They work 24 hours on and then 24 hours off then 24 hours on then 24 hours on. They sleep at night while getting paid. If they average $10.00 an hour, their overtime is $15.00 and hour. Take that times 32 hours a week. That is $480.00 a week in overtime and then take that times 3 Ambulances with 2 crew members per Ambulance. That is $149,760.00 a year. that is one county. Take that times 105 counties. That is $15,624,800.00 a year in tax money paid out in overtime, a year from our tax base. These private services pay taxes. The Government Services don't pay taxes. Topeka privatizes Pre-Hospital Health care to collect income tax from the Services as they become Businesses instead of Government Services. The Services don't pay taxes into the city/county system. They pay income tax directly into the State Budget. They bill the city and county for providing a service. We pay tax money to these companies who provide piss poor care and the State gets paid while we collect nothing as local Governments. Yea, you call an Ambulance, they show up, collect money for the bill, pay nothing to the city/county and then pay State Income Tax. They then Bill the city/county and the city/county increases our taxes to keep giving money to these Private Services. The Government owned Services collect money through Billing and this goes into the tax base which is used to run the service. The current way of Privatizing is dangerous and it kills!!! This has to stop!!!

**UPDATED SEPTEMBER 20th, 2009**

..Look at:..
http://www.wen2k.com/tell.php?Id=3659
and
http://www.wen2k.com/tell?Id=3574
and
http://www.wen2k.com/tell.php?Id=3573