UPDATE: (Wed. May 30, 2018 - KYTX)
UT Health East Texas EMS announced Wednesday in a press release it has filed a motion to dismiss counterclaims filed by Champion EMS and Christus Trinity Mother Frances Health System.
The press release reads in part:
"ETMC EMS, now called UT Health East Texas EMS, has filed a motion to dismiss against the counterclaims filed by Champion EMS and Christus Trinity Mother Frances Health System in the suit concerning Champion’s repeated violation of a county ordinance and a breach of a contract among UT Health East Texas EMS and Smith County and the city of Tyler to be the area’s exclusive ambulance provider through 2040.
“These same claims were dismissed by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in 2005,” the filing states, with the court ruling that the exclusive contract for the provision of ambulance services did not violate the antitrust laws. Champion EMS and Christus failed to inform the Smith County court of the previous federal court’s decision when they filed their counterclaim.
ETMC EMS was selected as the ambulance provider in 1992 to give the citizens access to a high-quality and cost-effective EMS system. “UT Health East Texas EMS is one of only 178 EMS services in the United States to receive accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Ambulance Standards,” said John Smith, CEO of UT Health East Texas EMS. “We meet or exceed our requirements on a yearly basis.”
Many cities in Texas, and nationwide, engage an exclusive ambulance service provider in order to reduce overhead and costs. Champion EMS, for example, is the exclusive ambulance service provider for some East Texas towns like Overton and Kilgore. Every year, ETMC EMS is reviewed by the Medical Control Board, which is comprised of physicians from several East Texas hospitals. ETMC EMS is required to receive a rating of 3 out of 5 to continue serving Tyler and Smith County.
Since 1992, ETMC EMS has received exceptional ratings, including this year’s rating of 4.48 out of 5. ETMC EMS provides these services at no cost to taxpayers in Tyler. The cost of these services is supported by patients and enrollees in the ETMC EMS Membership Program. In fact, in those communities without exclusive contracts around the country, these communities place a significant burden on taxpayers to subsidize county EMS services that are required to serve all calls regardless of the patient’s ability to pay. ETMC EMS also reinvested in the community’s emergency response infrastructure and upgraded its capabilities by purchasing and installing radio towers that allow first responders, as well as federal agencies such as the FBI and ATF, to communicate on the same system.
ETMC EMS also partners with the community to provide emergency training. ETMC’s motion to dismiss also highlights other issues of concern.
“Champion EMS has continually thwarted the prohibitions in the contract by operating and transporting patients between facilities within the service area covered by the restrictions,” the new filing states. “Transfers between facilities are typically patients with insurance, while many emergency transports involve patients without an ability to pay.”
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Tyler Morning Telegraph: May 29, 2018)
The Texas attorney general may intervene in a lawsuit that alleges local governments worked with an ambulance provider to create an illegal monopoly.
The Attorney General's Office sent a letter to the record keeper for the Smith County courts on Thursday saying it may intervene on behalf of the public's interest in the case.
The case in question accuses ETMC EMS, Smith County, the city of Tyler and the Smith County EMS Administrative Agency of creating an illegal monopoly by giving ETMC EMS exclusive control of most of the Smith County ambulance market dating back to 1992.
Zeenia Challa, an assistant attorney general in the financial litigation and charitable trust division, sent the letter on behalf of Attorney General Ken Paxton. She cited Texas law that allows the Attorney General’s Office to be involved in cases involving charitable trusts, including nonprofit organizations.
“The Attorney General is a proper party to such action and may intervene on behalf of the public’s interest in charity,” the letter says. “I am currently reviewing documents provided in the proceeding to determine if Attorney General participation is warranted.”
Champion EMS, which is affiliated with the Christus Trinity Mother Frances Health System, filed the suit as a counterclaim in April 2018 after ETMC EMS sued Champion in May 2017 for providing competing ambulance services in Tyler.
ETMC EMS is currently rebranding to UT Health East Texas EMS. The ambulance service is affiliated with the former East Texas Medical Center health system, which is now called UT Health East Texas after it was acquired in March.
ETMC EMS first entered a contract with Smith County EMS Administrative Agency — an agency set up by Smith County and the city of Tyler to administer the EMS contract — in 1992, according to the lawsuit.
The contract has been renewed since then. Most recently, in 2015, ETMC EMS entered into a 25-year extension that gives it market rights through 2040, according to records obtained by the Tyler Morning Telegraph.
First responders also have questioned the ambulance contract. In April, several asked the board of commissioners of the Smith County Emergency Services District No. 2 to work with the county government to put the contract back out to a competitive bidding process.
However, all three government entities named in the case — Smith County, Smith County EMS Administrative Agency and the city of Tyler — have filed documents with the court saying they are immunefrom the lawsuit for various reasons.
“(Champion and Christus Trinity Mother Frances) mistakenly assume in error that there is a legal requirement to competitively bid agreements which provide emergency ambulance services,” Smith County's attorney wrote in court documents. “(Their) claims have no basis in law or fact and must be dismissed.”
The city, which also has asked for the case to be dismissed, wrote that the court does not have authority to decide on the case, and that the city has immunity from the case under the Texas Free Enterprise and Antitrust Act.
Judge Jack Skeen of the 241st District Court, where the case has been filed, has set a hearing on the city and county motions to dismiss the case for July 19 at 1:30 p.m.
