Lawsuit Filed Against MESA for Billing Municipalities for Unrequested EMS Services

Columbia, Pennsylvania — A lawsuit has been filed by several municipalities against the Municipal Emergency Services Authority (MESA), alleging the organization is improperly billing them for emergency medical services (EMS) that they did not request. The municipalities involved in the lawsuit are Columbia Borough, Mount Joy Borough, Rapho Township, and West Hempfield Township. The municipalities claim that MESA began billing them for these services in September 2024, amounting to $117,300 for services which remain unpaid.

MESA was incorporated in February 2023 specifically to serve six municipalities, including Conoy, East Donegal, Mount Joy and West Donegal townships, as well as Elizabethtown and Marietta boroughs. The lawsuit points out that these municipalities have separate agreements with Penn State Health Life Lion for EMS services, indicating that they had no intent or need for MESA’s involvement.

According to the lawsuit, MESA has enacted charges of $350 for basic life support calls and $500 for advanced life support calls, which the municipalities argue is unwarranted since they did not request assistance from MESA. It is also highlighted that MESA occasionally responds to incidents in areas beyond its contracted municipalities through the Lancaster County-Wide Communications dispatching system, making it difficult for municipalities to control which service responds within their borders.

The municipalities assert that when MESA responds instead of Life Lion, they receive no benefits, leading to financial and operational issues. The complexity of EMS operations is further exacerbated by rising costs driven by inflation, compelling local governments to grapple with the financial pressures associated with the state law that mandates the provision of emergency medical services.

MESA’s Response to Demand Challenges

Initially, MESA was celebrated for addressing the insolvency of Northwest EMS and was expected to provide full staffing and almost immediate responses to emergencies within its designated service area. In 2024, MESA responded to approximately 950 calls in jurisdictions outside of its scheduled service, accounting for nearly 14% of the total calls that year. The authority noted that it received external assistance from other EMS providers only 43 times, demonstrating the high volume of calls it independently managed.

Community Recommendations

The lawsuit has prompted discussions about solutions, including the suggestion of creating a countywide EMS authority, which could potentially allow for more effective positioning of EMS teams and a fairer distribution of costs among residents. This recommendation aims to alleviate some of the current burdens faced by municipalities while ensuring that proper emergency medical services are available when needed.

As the lawsuit progresses, MESA has chosen not to comment on the ongoing litigation. The outcome of this case may set a precedent for how municipalities manage EMS billing and service responses in the region.

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