Bonus! 3 pm workshops, 9/15/26

San Marcos EMS is firing up on October 1st. Council is still wrestling with EMS billing questions.

There are a few final questions that Council has to resolve today:

1. How much do we want to help low-income San Marcos residents?

“FPL” means Federal Poverty Line.

This means:

• For an individual, 200% FPL is about $30K and 400% FPL is about $60K.
• For a family of four, 200% FPL is about $65K and 400% FPL is about $130K.

So here’s what the chart means: you call 911 and the ambulance takes you to the hospital. They bill your insurance, if you have it. Your insurance tries to charge you deductibles and copays.

After all that, there’s still some charges left over.

• Option 1: waive all charges for everyone earning up to $60K (or $130 for a family of 4). Above that, use a case-by-case basis.
• Option 2: waive all charges up to $30K income. Then step down the assistance, as income goes up to $60K.

Council weighs in:

Option 1: Amanda.
Option 2: Jane, Shane, Lorenzo, Matthew, Josh

(Alyssa is home sick).

So we’re going with Option 2. Cheaper for San Marcos taxpayers, more expensive for sick people.

……….

2. Do we want to extend this to people who don’t live in San Marcos?

• Option 1: No. You have to live here to be a resident.
• Option 2: Yes. If you live nearby and need an ambulance while you’re in San Marcos, we’ll give you a break.

Council weighs in:

Option 1: Jane, Shane, Lorenzo, Matthew, Josh
Option 2: Amanda

So no perks extended outside the city limits.

….

All of this will get reviewed in 6 months, when we have a little bit of data to look at. So if anything seems like a super terrible idea, we can change it then.