WHEREAS: some health insurance carriers reportedly have interposed themselves between their members and emergency medical services by advising members to call the carrier in the event of a suspected medical emergency even before calling a 911 emergency services access telephone number or before directly seeking care at an emergency care facility, and

WHEREAS: delays in accessing the emergency medical services system can result in unnecessary death, and

WHEREAS: delays in accessing emergency medical care can result in longer and more costly treatment of injuries and illness, and

WHEREAS: 911 telephone access systems have been instituted in order to provide fast and efficient access to critical emergency services, and

WHEREAS: Use of 911 telephone access systems by prudent laypersons has proven to be effective in assuring prompt response to emergencies, and

WHEREAS: interposing a health insurance carrier between a patient and the 911 system could cause unwarranted delays in accessing critical services, and

WHEREAS: health insurance carriers understandably have discouraged the inappropriate use of emergency medical services for non-emergency care in order to help control costs and to promote primary care relationships in more appropriate settings, and

WHEREAS: health care insurers can identify individuals who make excessive and inappropriate use of emergency medical services for non-emergencies and work with them individually to minimize abuses, and

WHEREAS: health care insurers serving West Central Michigan have not interposed themselves between their members and the appropriate emergency medical services of the community,

BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED: that the Alliance for Health objects to any unreasonable interference with the ability of area residents to promptly access emergency medical services in situations where prudence indicates a true emergency may exist, and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: that the Alliance for Health urges the health care insurers serving West Central Michigan to continue their existing responsible policies concerning access to local emergency medical services.

-Adopted by the Physician Advisory Group 12/1/99
-Adopted by the Board of Directors 2/21/00