"If I can make it there, I'll make it anywhere, New York, New York"

FDNY proposes steep ambulance fee hikes as EMS workers head for the exits

New Yorkers who dial 911 for an ambulance could soon face a bill nearly a third higher than what they pay today.

The FDNY has proposed raising the cost of a basic life support ambulance ride by 29 percent, from $1,385 to $1,793, and boosting the fee for on-site emergency treatment by 42 percent, from $630 to $896. A public hearing on the plan is set for May 15.

The proposed rule, first reported by the New York Post, would mark the first increase in medical transport fees since May 2023. Advanced life support trips would jump by roughly 30.7 percent. Level 1 rides would climb from $1,680 to $2,196. Level 2 rides would go from $1,692 to $2,012. The per-mile charge for the trip to the hospital, currently $20, would stay the same, and oxygen administration would remain at $66.

The department framed the hike as a matter of fiscal reality. In its proposed rule, the FDNY stated:

"The Fire Department is proposing this rule because of increased costs and to help offset the City's cost of providing these services. The proposed rates reflect increases in personal services costs and other than personal service costs required to provide emergency ambulance services and have been calculated to reduce the portion of such costs that is currently borne by City taxpayers."

Put plainly: the city says it can no longer absorb the gap between what ambulance runs cost and what patients are charged. Somebody has to pay. Under this proposal, that somebody is the person on the stretcher.

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