The Everett City Council is expected to approve a new contract Wednesday for privately operated ambulances.
The vendor, Everett-based Northwest Ambulance, will pay the city $158,000 a year under the proposed five-year contract. The company’s revenue will come from billing patients and insurance companies for ambulance rides.
Its crews will take people to hospitals after certain 911 calls for medical emergencies, in cases when city firefighters and paramedics have responded and determined the situation is not life-threatening.
Those cases account for about 6,600 ambulance transports in the city every year, said Tim Key, the fire department’s chief of emergency medical services.
The average ambulance ride in Snohomish County runs about $872, according to data provided by the city.
Everett’s contract with Northwest Ambulance will replace the current system of the city relying on a rotation of four different ambulance companies, in addition to city-owned transport rigs.
“This is a much more consistent arrangement and we have a lot more control over what our contractor will charge our citizens,” Key said.