Ambulance Service Inc

A Brea ambulance firm has agreed to pay a $30,000 fine and make restitution in order to settle a consumer protection lawsuit filed Monday by the district attorney's office. Ambulance Service Inc. admitted no wrongdoing in agreeing to settle the lawsuit, which alleged that the firm billed both patients and their insurers for ambulance transportation. The double-billing resulted in some overpayments that were never refunded, according to Deputy Dist. Atty. Michelle M. Lyman.

A Brea ambulance firm has agreed to pay a $30,000 fine and make restitution in order to settle a consumer protection lawsuit filed Monday by the district attorney's office. Ambulance Service Inc. admitted no wrongdoing in agreeing to settle the lawsuit, which alleged that the firm billed both patients and their insurers for ambulance transportation. The double-billing resulted in some overpayments that were never refunded, according to Deputy Dist. Atty. Michelle M. Lyman.

CareLine Inc. said Friday that it has completed its acquisition of Metro Ambulance Service Inc. in Marietta, Ga. The company refused to disclose terms of the sale. The Irvine-based ambulance service company also said that it has terminated its letters of intent to buy TEK Ambulance and Rescue Eight Paramedic Services, both of which serve the Chicago area. Since CareLine was formed two years ago, it has made 18 acquisitions and expanded its services to nine states.

MedTrans, a unit of Laidlaw Inc., has purchased Glendale-based Professional Ambulance Service Inc., the largest private paramedic provider in Los Angeles County. Terms of the sale were not disclosed. Professional Ambulance said its operations and 185 employees would not be affected by the sale. The company operates 40 ambulances and has 12 stations, mostly in northern Los Angeles County. MedTrans, based in San Diego, is one of the largest medical transporters in the United States.

The County Board of Supervisors approved a 10% fee increase Tuesday for three ambulance companies that operate under a contract with the county. The new rates apply to Ojai Ambulance Service, Pruner Health Services and Oxnard Ambulance Service Inc. The fee for emergency transportation increases from $232.50 to $256 and non-emergency transportation goes from $175 to $193. The charge for ambulance paramedics goes from $250 to $275. The new fees are effective immediately.

Adams Ambulance Service Inc., a South Gate company which has operated in Lakewood since 1983, will not have its $1-million liability insurance policy renewed July 1, the City Council was told. The company, which contracts with 18 other cities in the county, can't find insurance to meet Lakewood's $1-million coverage requirement, said Mayor Robert Wagner, who called the situation "a real crisis."

City Council members this week voted against negotiating a contract with Care Ambulance Service Inc. to provide emergency transportation. After a lengthy debate about whether city staff members made fair and proper evaluations and selections, the council agreed to have an outside consultant reevaluate five competing proposals and report back July 21.

A private ambulance service with its nearest station in Carson will begin transporting minor emergency victims in Long Beach in October, working under the Long Beach Fire Department's new response system. The system, approved with the city's 1992-93 budget last month, will use the Goodhew Ambulance Service Inc. for less serious calls, such as a broken arm. This will allow the department's eight ambulances to be used solely for critical emergencies, such as heart attacks.

The city must pay $165,000 to a company that lost business when the Fire Department took over emergency ambulance services two years ago, a jury has ruled. The Superior Court jury last week found that the city had breached an informal contract with Tustin-based Medix Ambulance Service Inc. Medix and another private company, Santa Ana-based CareLine California, had split all of the city's ambulance services for years when the Fire Department proposed the city takeover.

A private firm will continue to provide emergency ambulance service in Glendale under a five-year contract awarded Tuesday. The decision ended months of debate over whether the city should drop the firm and have firefighters operate ambulances. Glendale City Council voted 3 to 2 to award the contract to Professional Ambulance Service Inc. of Glendale, which has provided emergency service in the city for 10 years.

After a second consultant recommended Care Ambulance Service Inc., the City Council this week voted to develop a contract with the Anaheim-based company. Councilman Bob Zemel, a vocal critic of the evaluation and selection process, cast the only dissenting vote. Councilman Tom Tait in June had pushed for an independent analysis.