SAN DIEGO EXTENDS AMBULANCE CONTRACT

SAN DIEGO

San Diego signed this week a two-year contract extension with the city’s ambulance provider that includes a 5 percent fee increase for patients that would kick in July 1, 2021.

The move delays the city’s plan to switch ambulance providers this July from American Medical Response to Falck, a Danishowned company that provides ambulance services in nine U.S. states, including California. City officials announced in December that they had chosen Falck to replace AMR after evaluating responses to a “request for proposals” last fall. But AMR filed a protest last winter that prompted the city to start the process over. Firerescue Chief Colin Stowell told the City Council on Tuesday that he plans to post a new request for proposals in coming days, potentially allowing the city to switch pro

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AMR contract extension ends in June 2022.

Instead of signing a typical extension, city officials included special language in the deal that allows it to be terminated if the city chooses a new provider or negotiates a long-term deal with AMR after the request for proposals process ends.

The contract also includes a “lame duck” provision that aims to ensure a smooth transition if San Diego chooses Falck or some other provider to replace AMR. It requires AMR to continue providing service for six months after a new provider is chosen.

“It’s really a safety net for both the city and the current ambulance provider,” Stowell said.

Signing a new deal at least one year before the extension terminates in 2022 could also allow the city to avoid the fee increase planned for July 2021. That spike would move San Diego into the top one-third among emergency medical providers across the region.

The council unanimously approved the new contract Tuesday, but Councilwoman Monica Montgomery said she is eager for the new request process to begin and that she hopes it will be complete long before June 2022.

Efforts to find a new provider were prompted by a series of disputes in recent years between AMR and city officials over response times, staffing levels and fines levied on the company for not meeting city goals.

But relations between the city and AMR have stabilized since the company’s operating agreement was amended in 2017 to soften some requirements and boost the company’s revenue with higher patient fees.

Leaders of local groups focused on San Diego’s minority communities, where complaints about response times have typically been the loudest, expressed frustration this week that the request process must start over.

“I am calling on the City Council to be bolder leaders and not business as usual,” said Francine Maxwell, president of the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Montgomery echoed Maxwell’s frustration and said she hoped city officials could avoid “similar missteps” to the errors that forced a cancellation of last fall’s request for proposals.

In its protest of that request, AMR complained that the city’s bidding process was defective and that Falck failed to meet the minimum standards required to participate in the competition.

In response, Falck officials claimed AMR was putting inappropriate pressure on the city.

Stowell said the city decided to restart the process “after careful evaluation.”

Both Falck and AMR say they intend to participate in the new request for proposals.

“It is our honor to work on behalf of the city of San Diego to provide EMS services,” said Mike Murphy, an AMR general manager.

In an emailed statement, Falck officials said they are “excited to participate in the RFP process to deliver emergency medical services to the city, and we stand ready to develop our proposal for service once the call for proposals is released.”

They also expressed optimism about the outcome.

“Ultimately, Falck is confident that the city of San Diego will select the right company to provide accountable, affordable and clinically competent care for the community,” the statement said.

San Diego hasn’t switched ambulance providers in more than two decades. The city signed a deal in 1997 with Rural/metro, and AMR took over the contract in 2015 when it bought Rural/metro.

david.garrick@sduniontribune.com