Not every local government is displeased with the new fee structure recently adopted by Medic 1 Ambulance.
The service has been criticized by city leaders in Benton Harbor for increasing the yearly amount charged by more than $150,000 in that community, but in a handful of other Berrien County locations, the ambulance fees are going down.
Hagar Township Supervisor Izzy DiMaggio tells us when the township signed up with Medic 1 a few years ago following the failure of Pride Care, its yearly rate was set at $89,000 and with no membership rights. With new changes at Medic 1 in play, township trustees this week adopted a resolution approving membership and the revenue plan.
“With the new revenue plan, they needed to raise $2.5 million, Medic 1,” DiMaggio said. “In our situation, the first year, we’re going to save about $19,000, which is a big chunk of money. So our board adopted a resolution to join Medic 1 as a full-time member. We will have membership voting rights, which we did not previously.”
DiMaggio says under Medic 1, Hagar Township also now has an ambulance substation in the community, ensuring response times are faster than when the ambulance would have to drive in from outside the community. That substation is located in the township public safety building on Coloma Road in the Riverside area.
