After a daylong trial on Wednesday, a Pulaski County Circuit Court jury found that Metropolitan Emergency Medical Services was not in violation of the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
Attorneys Dan and Todd Turner of the Arkadelphia law firm Arnold, Batson, Turner & Turner filed suit against central Arkansas' ambulance service on behalf of Robert and Ericka Davis after they were treated for injuries related to an auto accident in April 2012.
The couple suffered spinal and head injuries and were transported via a single ambulance 9 miles to Baptist Health Medical Center in Little Rock. They were later billed by the ambulance service nearly $800 each, for a mileage rate of $16.50 per mile and a "base rate" of $640.
"It's deceptive conduct. They didn't drive 18 miles; they drove 9 miles," Todd Turner said.
The plaintiffs' suit challenged MEMS' policy of "double billing" patients who share an ambulance to a hospital, and it accused the agency of enacting the policy for exacting additional revenue. The lawsuit was made a class-action case when plaintiffs discovered that between 2008 and 2013, the ambulance service had nearly 3,000 cases of transports involving multiple patients in which each patient was billed individually.
"We don't want them charging the people of this community double for the same service," Turner said.
But Little Rock City Attorney Tom Carpenter told the jury there is no deception involved in this practice, adding that the revenue generated from transporting patients is the ambulance service's only revenue stream.
"It's not like a used car salesman who sets back the odometer to sell it at 25,000 miles -- those are deceptive trade practices," Carpenter said.
Annually, MEMS answers about 60,000 calls. Of those calls, the ambulance service only charges patients who are transported to a hospital. Roughly a quarter of all calls dispatch an ambulance but don't involve transporting a patient, according to a MEMS official.
Carpenter said MEMS collects only between 40 percent and 42 percent of all bills, generating a total annual revenue of $23.5 million, according to 2015 figures. The ambulance service determines its budget accordingly.
MEMS also spends overtime dollars when mobilizing units and resources in anticipation of a natural disaster. If tornadoes are forecast, for example, the ambulance service will have an extra 50 percent of its staff on duty in the two days leading up to the event.
"So many of the extra things we do that provide an extra layer of coverage, we have no hope of being reimbursed for, and we do it because it's the right thing to do," said MEMS Executive Director Jon Swanson.
Plaintiffs' attorneys were also critical of the ambulance service's cache of $1.4 million, accrued from excess billing, in an "investment account." It's unconscionable, Turner argued, for the ambulance service to collect such excess revenue at the expense of patients like Robert and Ericka Davis.
Carpenter contended that the investment account is mandated by the city, which has authority over MEMS. The account is used for upgrades, improvements, or in case the ambulance service suffers a shortfall in revenue.
According to Swanson, the investment account has been used to fund new radios in its fleet of 40 ambulances, new machines for assisting with CPR, and a new headquarters facility to be opened in early 2017.
By 3 p.m., closing arguments were made, and the jury deliberated for an hour and a half. The 12-member panel found that MEMS did not commit any of the violations alleged by the plaintiffs' suit.
Metro on 11/17/2016