Rette Speight

Efforts to make the health care market more competitive are now including interfacility ambulance transport.

The bill, which passed a House committee on Monday, would only make interfacility patient transfers up for grabs, with emergencies still left to a contracted emergency care provider.

Gene Moffitt, owner of Gold Cross Ambulance, said that so far, there are no problems that would suggest this change is needed.

He also said this change would "dismantle the state's honored system," and the state's public services shouldn't be experimented with.

"Providers would end up squabbling over who got to cover those, who could pay more, or who had to take those who could pay less," said Moffitt. "The patients would end up paying the ultimate price."

"This is an isolated issue," said Mike Madsen, representing the St. George fire department. "What's the problem? We haven't heard or seen evidence of problems that patients haven't received appropriate ambulance care, we haven't heard complaints."

Fire department representatives testified about the bill, even though they would not be affected.

The reason for concern, however, is responsibility.

"When we went to an exclusive provider previously, we can hold people accountable for their service," Madsen said. "When there are two or three [providers], who truly is responsible?"

West Jordan Fire Chief Bradley Wardle said that the current system works, but doesn't work very well.

"Our dogs are not in this fight," he said. "It's not that we're against competition, but we've learned to work in this broken system, and we're afraid that this will undo everything we've learned how to handle."

To have single emergency-care providers for hospitals is critical, as it ensures that problems are taken care of, Wardle said.

David Gessel, of the Utah Hospitals and Health systems, said that there is a huge competitive market for hospitals, doctors and other aspects of health care, and ambulances are one of the few areas where there isn't any competition.

The bill favors large, out-of-state ambulance providers, Moffitt said. Such large providers drive local carriers out of the market, he said.