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arbrady t1_j9o6jo7 wrote

Raising from $900 to $1385 and blaming it on EMS raises and inflation. That’s ridiculous.

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nyxnars t1_j9o6y1w wrote

Deadass. EMTs get paid basically minimum wage

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UuuuSERnamee00911 t1_j9oaad2 wrote

Emts and medics around the city work 2-3 jobs and are never home 🙃 can't afford it.

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York_Villain t1_j9otwxi wrote

I had a friend that slept in his truck three nights per week.

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polski71 t1_j9tbkw4 wrote

Slept in my car in the station parking lot March 2020. Was stupid common.

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soaponsoaponsoap t1_j9q5pqt wrote

Yup. I work as a waitress in SoHo and one of my coworkers previously worked as an EMT making $18.75. He quit and is now working as a server / bartender making more money.

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kinovelo t1_j9wzloc wrote

No, after 5 years, they make well over $120K all-in comp when you include pensions and fringe benefits, which are equal to over 100% of the base salary. And before you try to argue with me, I’d be completely fine with all EMTs making $100K if they eliminate all pensions, replacing it with a max 5% 401K match, and only paid up to $1K a month in subsidies to healthcare plans that you could buy at market rate on the NY State healthcare marketplace, which would stop after they stopped working.

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Grass8989 t1_j9oes22 wrote

Paramedics definitely don’t.

Edit: Paramedics literally don’t make minimum wage.

https://www.joinfdny.com/careers/ems/

This is publicly accessible information.

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nickelflow t1_j9rtppw wrote

Yes, paramedics don’t make minimum wage. But their salary is still not the best compared to the COL in NYC.

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cantcountnoaccount t1_j9p5m2x wrote

Until they put in their 20 and get pension and free “Cadillac coverage” Heath care for the rest of their life. You’ll never meet so many retired 38 year olds.

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chug84 t1_j9q432y wrote

You sound mad you couldn't pass their test.

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cantcountnoaccount t1_j9q4lac wrote

I’m vested thanks.

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chug84 t1_j9q62px wrote

Vested in what exactly?

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cantcountnoaccount t1_j9qm41d wrote

You sound mad bro.

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chug84 t1_j9qwql2 wrote

Quite the contrary. I find it comical that clowns like you always suggest that civil servants are living the highlife, have the best medical insurance known to mankind, have the fattest pensions, etc. If you think they have it so good and all retire by 38, why not take the test and join them? Answer is you're either too dumb to pass the test and/or don't have the balls to do what they do.

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cantcountnoaccount t1_j9r5709 wrote

If you don’t understand the benefits are factually incredible, I suggest you stock shelves at Target for 20 years and see what it gets you.

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C0NEYISLANDWHITEFISH t1_j9riefw wrote

Lol, the city literally just cut retiree’s heathcare. What ‘Cadillac’ plan are you referring to? Medicare Advantage?

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[deleted] t1_j9p74jv wrote

[deleted]

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cantcountnoaccount t1_j9pj9jr wrote

Let me know what other job offers the ridiculously good health plan (valued at $18,000/yr according to the tax forms) unlimited sick leave, no termination without a hearing, shift differentials, meal allowances, free training for your license and CDL, guaranteed annual raises, and a pension that vest in 5 years, to a punk 18 yo with no work experience and a GED.

It’s hard work at low pay. But jobs that don’t require you to purchase specialized education in advance generally are.

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StreamA7X t1_j9pm8wa wrote

It’s not unlimited sick leave

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cantcountnoaccount t1_j9pq945 wrote

Ok fair. However you can get a light duty position that can last multiple years.

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StreamA7X t1_j9pv4vm wrote

You are correct. However, light duty caps you at 40 hour work weeks. Which basically destroys your paycheck because there is no overtime in it. You are correct though it definitely is hard work for low pay, and the insurance and benefits are pretty good.

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oceanblue966 t1_j9porgq wrote

Pension is tier 6 that isnt worth shit

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cantcountnoaccount t1_j9pqoq5 wrote

Yeah, contribute 3% of your wages, get 50% for life starting at 55 or 80% if you wait till 60. What a travesty.

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oceanblue966 t1_j9prw63 wrote

You're doing the exact same job, for a lower salary (adjusted for inflation), and a lower retirement package. You are sustaining tiers 1, 2, 3, and 4 while they no longer pay into the plan, and they are getting the long end of the stick. You get far better returns in a 401k, and no public job offers 403b matching.

"Guaranteed annual raises" = "1% raise, 3% if you get the best rating in the organization".

Its not a fair system, but it had to be done, because NYS and other states are realizing the pension system is NOT sustainable, but they are obligated to do whatever it takes (including fucking over current public employees) to fund those who have retired and moved to Florida, not even paying NYS taxes anymore, who are earning 100k+ a year on a pension.

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Jerund t1_j9pv29j wrote

If you are part of nycer, even if you retire in NYS, you don’t have to pay state tax. Doesn’t matter if they go to Florida or not.

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oceanblue966 t1_j9pxmgc wrote

I was referring to property taxes (which generally fund public salaries), but I didn't know that. Thank you.

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chug84 t1_j9r89jx wrote

You say you're "vested" yet half of this bullshit you spewed is straight cap 😅🤣

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Infinite_Carpenter t1_j9pd22n wrote

My wife was hit by a car while biking and a bystander called an ambulance. My wife refused treatment and we still got a $2000 bill. Mount Sinai told us there isn’t even an office we could call to contest the bill.

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Tatar_Kulchik t1_j9pgw35 wrote

Call the Attorney's General office. They got a $6K bill I received from a hospital reduced to $0 because it violated some law.

Also, don't have to call, you can fill out a form online and they will call you.

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medievalkitty2 t1_j9qrsil wrote

NY passed a bill earlier this year that prohibits surprise medical billing. If you are in a situation where you do not have control over which doctor ends up being your provider - say a hospital anesthesiologist - you are not on the hook for their bill.

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deckerthehalls t1_j9qgwzj wrote

The billing varies by agency. Some places won't bill you at all unless you actually get transported to the hospital, and others will bill you just for being seen.

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Infinite_Carpenter t1_j9qhmqd wrote

Yeah, I don’t think they touched her.

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deckerthehalls t1_j9recea wrote

You also get double billed for hospitals because FDNY bills for an NYC ambulance in addition to the actual hospital. I forgot how exactly the bill looks.

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polski71 t1_j9tbu80 wrote

And you don’t get a choice for city ambulance (fdny) or non city (mt sinai, presby etc). I know for fdny there’s supposed to only be a bill for complete transports, but I always wondered if the rules were different for voluntary hospital units. It’s closest available unit when you dial 911 so it’s a dice roll if that’s fdny, or other

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deckerthehalls t1_j9te86x wrote

Correct. The voluntary hospitals generally service the immediate area around them, but they can go pretty far depending on the agency. I mean I've been sent to entirely different boros while I'm working. You could call 911 in Manhattan and get a hospital unit from Queens or Brooklyn depending on what it is and where and what units are available.

Generally speaking though, the billing issue varies by agency. I know that Northwell ambulances do not bill unless you're transported. Pretty sure NYU and Presby are like that too. I guess Mount Sinai and others bill for RMA/AMA (refused medical attention). You can get around that by literally saying "no thanks I'm good" and walking away from them if you don't want help. Altho if you or someone else called an ambulance for you, chances are that there's something concerning and you should at least be evaluated if not transported. For me, I'd have to be unconscious to go by ambulance bc I'm stubborn.

EMS providers vary widely tho. I'll say that. Sometimes you get an excellent crew. Other times you're getting Dumb and Dumber. The EMS system in NYC and nationwide is hemorrhaging from the inside. We lost a LOT of great people before and during COVID, and it's hard to recruit good people now too. People don't wanna work in this profession anymore bc of the poor treatment and pay that we get. I don't regret my time in EMS tho.

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Pool_Shark t1_j9p5h1j wrote

Just find one person at the top who is being paid 7+ figures and cut their job and all the sudden the budget is there without screwing over citizens.

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aguafiestas t1_j9pf8hf wrote

In 2016, FDNY did a hair over 1 million hospital transports (see here).

So you would probably need to cut around $500 million in administrator salary to make up this difference.

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donttouchthirdrail t1_j9qo916 wrote

How is 1/9th of the city getting an ambulance ride. That’s an insane number

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aguafiestas t1_j9qoutv wrote

It is a very high number, but it probably has a smaller number of individuals getting multiple transports.

Looking a little more closely, I think this includes more than emergency ambulance transports. It says there are 1,121 "total 9-1-1- ambulance tours" per day, which rounds out to 409,165 per year. Which is a lot, but also a lot less than the 1,092,752 "hospital transports" listed. So that larger number presumably includes non-emergency transports (and potentially lower levels of care than a full ambulance).

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Erazmuz t1_j9qvhr4 wrote

You're misinterpreting what that means. Of the 1,425,719 reported calls for "medical emergencies", 1,092,752 resulted in a transport to the hospital.

FDNY does not provide non-emergency interfacility transport service. In New York City, non-emergency ambulance services are provided by private ambulance companies or a hospital's own EMS department.

It actually is that busy. It's not that a ninth of the population uses an ambulance a year, there are just some individuals who are hyper-utilizers.

Anecdotally, every paramedic or EMT will have regulars that we know very well. These are individuals often with poor healthcare literacy and chronic conditions that they are either unable or unwilling to address in a more appropriate setting than an ER. Then there's also the regular drunks, homeless people just trying to get a bed and a sandwich, you get the idea.

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aguafiestas t1_j9qymra wrote

Then what do you think is the discrepancy between their being over twice as many “hospital transports” as “9-1-1 ambulance tours?” Ambulance rides that start with something other than an emergency call?

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Erazmuz t1_j9r44vs wrote

An ambulance tour is a shift, not a transport. For whatever reason, it's always been called a tour. Units run for either 8 or 12 hour tours. It's just referring to how many units are run. Any unit will do multiple calls a tour.

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twozerothreeeight t1_j9uhjck wrote

"ambulance tours" is an indication of the amount of units on the road. FDNY or hospital based 911 ambulances work, AFAIK, 8 or 12 hour tours. So a unit that is scheduled for 3 8 hour tours, that is actually in service for those tours, would be credited for 3 per day, or at total of 1095 per year.

I know it sounds weird, but when I worked in EMS they treated the different tours like they were entirely separate units. Performance metrics were measured and reported per individual tour.

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DirtySkell t1_j9tf0ww wrote

I can personally name at least 5 patients of mine whom go to the hospital via ambulance at least 5 times a week. It's usually not even with the Fire Department but a voluntary ambulance instead which I believe isn't included in that cited metric.

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Darrackodrama t1_j9p7eb9 wrote

Like find this money in taxes on wealthier New Yorkers and nypd cuts ffs

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atyppo t1_j9po7ft wrote

Highest taxes in the nation aren't already enough? How about cutting some bloat in government for once and giving the EMTs a raise from literal poverty wages?

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_Maxolotl t1_j9qwar1 wrote

> and nypd cuts ffs

they already suggested cutting some bloat in government.

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oy_says_ake t1_j9safsw wrote

It seems likely that these increased fees reflect increased real costs for the city.

in late 2021 nyc ems employees agreed a new contract covering june 2018 - july 2022. The back pay for the new agreement’s raises gets paid out lump sum.

The point: The city quoted the net cost of that agreement for fy24 as $73.7 million. The post article we’re commenting on says the new fees will raise ~$16 million in fy24. So even with raised fees we’re still $57 million short of covering our new labor costs.

And remember, now they’re out of contract again, so you can already begin factoring in the eventual raise they’ll be getting with back pay to july 2022.

Beyond that ambulances themselves have been in drastic shortage, which probably increases our maintenance costs substantially and increases the per unit cost of any ambulances we are able to buy.

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OneYungGun t1_ja4yxql wrote

Pretty crazy. Hatzola EMS has faster response times than FDNY, doesn't charge, and doesn't pay it's workers, they are volunteers.

Maybe more communities and neighborhoods ought to adopt a volunteer model rather than the model which has been failing for decades.

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holiday1020 t1_j9r68ef wrote

I dont see many private companies operating around the city

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