Preserve Free Ambulance Service

To The Uninsured

To the Editor:

Let me first state that the Ambulance Corps in Newtown does an outstanding job. They put in countless hours of their time and provide the community a very important service. My family has used their services on a couple of occasions, and they have always been extremely professional and caring.  I am a retired state employee who has insurance for the rest of my life; for this I am very fortunate. But on a daily basis I speak with people who are not as fortunate as I am, and one of their biggest problems is the cost of health care, many who have had liens put on their homes due to medical bills they have accumulated due to low grade or no health insurance. So to have a person who is uninsured for ambulance service be directed to call a toll-free telephone number listed on their invoice to make payment arrangements, would just create another financial hardship for them.

The Ambulance Corps has been doing a great job all these years without charging anyone for service.  By enacting a charge for insured users of their service should be a big enough help to them in their advancement in technology.  This is a group of people who volunteer their time to help others in their time of need. Charging the uninsured would only put a financial burden on them and I don’t think that would be what this organization as a whole or the community would want.

In closing I want to personally thank all the volunteer organizations in Newtown for their constant dedication to the people and the property of Newtown.

Russell Picerno

3 Surrey Trail, Sandy Hook                                      February 19 2007