EMSA files motion to dismiss lawsuit

TULSA - EMSA has filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit. It alleges the agency wrongly charged patients for ambulance services.

EMSA says the claims don't add up. The agency also denies its billing issues are widespread.

While EMSA paramedics are busy saving lives, the agency continues to fight a lawsuit.

In it,  two Tulsans claim they were wrongly charged for ambulance services. They say they paid fees as a part of the TotalCare Program and should not have been charged.

Three other plaintiffs have since signed onto the lawsuit.

"The claims being made require these people to actually prove certain things, such as damages. And four out of the five people have never paid an amount of money for the ambulance service that they're suing over," said Kistopher Koepsel, an attorney for EMSA.

He says two of the plaintiffs were not opted into the TotalCare Program when they used an ambulance. Koepsel says two others were transported by EMSA before the program even began.

"One of the allegations is that these people represent people who are in the TotalCare Program, and had an emergency run, and didn't get those benefits. And the facts don't add up with that," Koepsel said.

Since the TotalCare Program began, EMSA says less than one percent of all patient bills have been sent to small claims court for collection.

"Ambulance services that are provided through the EMSA system are of top quality, and we don't want any of the concerns that are being raised about the billing process to reflect negatively on the quality services being provided," Koepsel said.

In the meantime, the City of Tulsa continues to work with EMSA, hoping to clear things up for citizens. The mayor has come up with a list of recommendations to do just that.

 "It's very important, for not only EMSA, but the city as well, to get the information out there so people are more aware of what the program is," said Clay Bird, the mayor's designee on the EMSA board.

On Wednesday, EMSA will discuss launching a public education campaign about the TotalCare Program and its billing practices.

From there, the plaintiffs will have a chance to respond before it goes to a judge.