Politics & Government

Gwinnett Raises Ambulance Fees

An ambulance trip to the hospital now costs $975

One day after a Gwinnett County commissioner said financial cuts had to "go deeper," the full board acted.

The commissioners Tuesday increased to $975 the fee that Gwinnett Fire And Emergency Services will charge for emergency medical transports. The move, effective immediately, is an increase of $225. The additional $15 per mile trip remains unchanged.

The move brings the county in line with such neighboring counties as Rockdale and Clarke (Athens). The increase is expected to generate an additional $1.5 million a year for financially strapped Gwinnett County.

Find out what's happening in Duluthwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

At a public forum Monday night in Suwanee, Commissioner John Heard said that financial cuts had to "go deeper" and that the board would not raise taxes. The county has taken $18 million from its reserve fund to cover a deficit in its 90-day budget. But commissioners acknowledged that the ongoing operating deficit is greater than that figure.

Gwinnett Fire and Emergency Services maintains a fleet of 23 ambulances spread across the county's 30 fire stations; the Suwanee station is located on Buford Highway across from Town Center Park. In 2010, those ambulances handled more than 31,000 emergency medical transports to hospitals in Gwinnett County and throughout metro Atlanta.

Find out what's happening in Duluthwith free, real-time updates from Patch.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here