Indiana’s Emergency Medical Services Restitution Fund was established, in part, to issue restitution to agencies or individuals which provide emergency medical services to victims injured in an alcohol-related crash.
These “reimbursement” funds are then distributed to Indiana court systems that prosecute criminal acts relating to a DUI charge (driving under the influence).
However, the funds come in the form of mileage rates for tax-funded emergency medical services, such as the Crawfordsville Fire Department, the only one of its kind in Montgomery County.
Seeking approval from the Board of Public Works on Wednesday, CFD Division Chief Paul Miller requested raising mileage requests from $7.16 per mile to $8 — a six-year-old state standard.
“What we’re looking at doing is just capturing revenue. That is, setting our rates at the minimum standard that the state has accepted since 2013,” he explained. “We’ve been capturing EMS fees below the minimum standard; we’re just trying to move up to the minimum billing standards.”
The restitution fund is administered by the Department of Homeland Security.
“The commission (Homeland Security) shall distribute the schedule (of costs) to all courts in Indiana having jurisdiction over individuals who have been charged with an offense under IC 9-30-5,” IC 16-31-8-5 reads.
During Miller’s request, he emphasized patients’ co-pays will not be affected by the change.
“It has nothing to do with the patients. They won’t see anything,” he said. “It just allows us to capture that. We should’ve done it a long time ago.”
Miller received unanimous approval after briefly explaining the effort to board members.
