Riders in ambulances tend to ignore cost at the time, but fee hikes will make that attitude hard to maintain when bills arrive.

El Dorado County's basic ambulance rate will need to rise next month by 30 percent, from $797 to $1,074, said Eileen Flatgard, administrative technician for the county emergency-medical service agency.

Folsom's basic ambulance fee rose 16.5 percent on June 24, from $850 to $994.

The El Dorado County Board of Supervisors is expected to approve a hike, Flatgard said.

"It's pretty significant," Flatgard said. "It's going to get up there. Right now, we're riding the bottom three percent statewide."

Folsom fees rose to slightly more than an average for the local region, which is $943, according to Fire Chief Dan Haverty.

Ambulance fees tend to rise regularly, but typically not sharply, Flatgard said.

In a report to Folsom City Council members, Haverty cited steeply rising vehicle costs and drastically rising fuel costs as reasons for a sharp fee hike.

"In 2006, the bid price for a new ambulance without equipment and supplies was $163,000," Haverty wrote. "The same ambulance in 2009 is estimated to cost over $230,000. Fuel costs have nearly doubled in the last 12 months."

El Dorado County ambulances must drive the wide area from El Dorado Hills in the west to Kyburz in the east.

Nearer Lake Tahoe, ambulance provider is Cal-Tahoe, whose current basic fee is $1,237, Flatgard said.

Sac-Metro Fire Department's fee is $950, with Sacramento City Fire at $1,009, she said.

Placer county agencies charge some of the highest basic ambulance fees currently in the region, according to Flatgard. She said South Placer Fire Department charges $1,305, and Foresthill Fire Department charges $1,100.

Haverty's report suggests insurers will bear the brunt of the local ambulance hikes.

"In fiscal 2006-07, the emergency-medical services division processed 2,664 medical bills for ambulance transportation and medical services … of that total, 2,439 bills were sent directly to insurance companies," Haverty wrote.

The Telegraph’s Roger Phelps can be reached at rogerp@goldcountrymedia.com, or post a comment at folsomtelegraph.com