On 10 de diciembre, the Los Angeles City Committee on Transportation heard several public comments urging the committee to advance a proposal to adjust ambulance service fees (agenda items labeled 0.9 and 0.92).

Speakers representing ambulance operators and hospital/ambulance associations told the committee the current fixed fees do not keep pace with rising labor and equipment costs and that higher, approved rates are needed to maintain service reliability and to increase pay for paramedics. Rock Barneway, introduced as CEO of Curt Company, said he was “here to support fuertemente el 0.9” and warned operators could not remain solvent without a fare increase. George Parker, treasurer of the Ambulance Association of California, said the proposed adjustment “creates a proceso justo y predecible para poder cubrir los costos operativos,” allowing upgrades to equipment and retention of trained staff.

Other commenters described consumer‑facing impacts. Aix Corn of Lifeline described two personal ambulance billing incidents to illustrate how the city’s ordinance protected her from higher charges while she was inside Los Angeles but left open questions about costs when services occur outside the city. Fred Market, speaking for a family services organization, said changing fixed, regulated fees into negotiable, unregulated rates would create price competition that could harm training and response capacity and put vulnerable communities at risk. Luisa Kirchner, representing a hospital/ambulance interest group, noted a pending coverage change and hospital estimates she characterized as about $25,000,000 in costs tied to projected coverage gaps; she also supported a separate Rodriguez motion to permit negotiated fees in line with practices in other California counties.

The committee chair recommended advancing non‑controversial items including the fee adjustment to the City Council for consideration and asked the clerk to call the roll, but the meeting record provided here does not show a final committee vote on the ordinance. Committee staff and public speakers repeatedly urged the committee to act so that approved rates could support personnel pay increases and equipment upgrades; supporters noted the last pay increase referenced in public comment occurred in 2022. Several speakers also emphasized protecting patient access and equity as the rationale for retaining a regulated rate structure.

What’s next: Committee leadership asked that the listed items be advanced; the transcript does not show a final committee vote or the City Council’s next calendar date. If the committee formally transmits the ordinance to the council, that body would be the next forum for a final decision.

Quotes used in this report are taken verbatim from the meeting transcript and attributed to the speakers who made them there.