Some inmates at Tarrant County鈥檚 jails will no longer be charged for emergency ambulance rides, after the county鈥檚 hospital district approved a reimbursement agreement with MedStar.
For more than a decade, uninsured people incarcerated in Tarrant County were expected to foot the bill if they needed to be transported to a hospital. But the EMS provider responsible for those transports, MedStar, reported abysmal collection rates; the average payment MedStar collected from uninsured Tarrant County Corrections Center patients in 2022 was $2.36. Most bills were eventually written off as charity care.
鈥淭his is a great moment,鈥� Matt Zavadsky, chief transformation officer for MedStar, said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 nice to know that at a time when health care is struggling across the country, including EMS agencies, that JPS, the hospital district, was willing to help us serve the community by reimbursing us for those services.鈥�
showed unpaid jail transport bills were worsening an already dire financial situation for Fort Worth鈥檚 EMS provider. MedStar was owed about $2.6 million from transports in 2022 alone.
Last year, MedStar began lobbying JPS Health Network to share the financial burden. Other hospital districts, including those in Dallas and Bexar counties, already pay for emergency care for inmates.
This month, JPS鈥� board of managers made that a reality. The board approved a reimbursement agreement between the hospital district and MedStar on March 14. While the managers did not comment on the reimbursement agreement, an earlier meeting of the hospital district鈥檚 finance committee prompted plenty of questions. Chief among them was a question of responsibility.
鈥淲hy doesn鈥檛 the county pay for this?鈥� board member Tim Davis asked at the Feb. 22 meeting.
In Texas counties that have a hospital district, the responsibility for paying for indigent health care 鈥� health care for people who can鈥檛 afford it 鈥� falls to the hospital district rather than the county. But MedStar it could bill JPS for inmate transports until last year.
鈥淚 just never knew that we were never billed for this,鈥� board chairman Trent Petty said in the finance committee meeting. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like they forgot to bill.鈥�
鈥淐an we forget to pay?鈥� Davis jokingly replied, prompting laughs from other board members.
The EMS provider will continue to pursue payment from incarcerated people with insurance or ability to pay, rather than billing JPS first.
鈥淚f the patient doesn鈥檛 have insurance and the patient can鈥檛 afford to pay, then the hospital district is really doing the right thing by helping to reimburse for the cost of that service,鈥� he said.
MedStar is also in the process of securing a reimbursement agreement with the city of Fort Worth for services to its municipal jail. The current proposal is a one-year agreement with costs not to exceed $250,000, according to an presented to council members. The agreement would have unlimited renewal options.
MedStar is also in the process of securing a reimbursement agreement with the city of Fort Worth for services to its municipal jail. The current proposal is a one-year agreement with costs not to exceed $250,000, according to an presented to council members. The agreement would have unlimited renewal options.
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