By Benjamin Joe
Lockport Union-Sun & Journal
PENDLETON, N.Y. 鈥� Firefighters and EMTs with Wendelville Volunteer Fire Company are asking the Pendleton Town Board for authority to bill ambulance patients鈥� insurance for their services.
"(In) the past, the volunteer fire departments were not able, and could not legally, charge for ambulance transport,鈥� Joe Riester, president of Wendelville Fire Co., said. 鈥淚n 2022 there was a law that was passed that no longer prohibited fire departments from billing for ambulance and emergency rescue services.鈥�
Riester said the state law, which took effect in July 2022, allows for 鈥渟oft billing鈥� by volunteer first responder companies.
鈥淪oft billing basically allows for a billing service to send over a bill for service to a patient鈥檚 insurance. We will accept what the insurance company pays for this debt. Non-residents of the Town of Pendleton will receive a bill for their deductible and this will be billed for 90 days and after 90 days that debt would be written off,鈥� Riester said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not going to be calling people up and following up and harassing them to pay the bill. It鈥檚 soft billing.鈥�
Pendleton residents would not receive a bill for their deductible amount, because a portion of their annual town tax payment goes to the fire company.
鈥淭heir insurance will be billed and we鈥檒l accept whatever the insurance company provides. We鈥檙e not double dipping and charging (the deductible),鈥� Riester said.
According to Riester, Wendelville company transports approximately 150 people by ambulance annually. Some calls are 鈥渘ot that bad鈥� and they do not transport, he said; other times a call involves 鈥渁 larger medical issue鈥� and Wendelville calls on Twin City Ambulance to provide transport with Advanced Life Saving (ALS) vehicles. Wendelville offers only Basic Life Saving (BLS) transport.
Several other fire companies that run ambulances in Niagara County have started doing soft billing, including Rapids VFC, Riester said.
Pendleton resident Annmarie Reeb told this reporter after the town board meeting that she鈥檚 concerned insurance companies would bill residents for their deductible amount after transport, not knowing they didn鈥檛 have to pay.
The board is expected to vote on the Wendelville company鈥檚 request during its Oct. 23 work session.
(c)2023 the Lockport Union-Sun & Journal (Lockport, N.Y.)
Visit the Lockport Union-Sun & Journal (Lockport, N.Y.) at
Distributed by
RELATED: