Fire Department-Ambulance
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Red Wing Fire Department Response Area
The primary fire service area is 64 square miles & includes the City of Red Wing, Prairie Island Indian Community, and Wacouta Township.
The primary ambulance service area is 262 square miles, including 36 square miles in Wisconsin. The City of Red Wing is 42 square miles.
Number of Emergency Medical Service (Ambulance) Calls
Summary: The number of ambulance calls increased 27% between 2020 and 2022 to over 4,100 calls. This dropped to 3,290 in 2023 which is closer to levels seen in 2020. Very few communities in Minnesota have an ambulance service as part of their fire department. Red Wing has prioritized this service so residents have quality care, fast response times, and don’t have to rely on private companies for emergency medical services.
Details: An Emergency Medical Service call is any ambulance request. Read more here about the needs and issues around EMS and ambulance services statewide.
Source: City of Red Wing Fire Department, 2018-2023
Type of Emergency Medical Service (Ambulance) Calls
Summary: In 2023, 42% of Red Wing’s ambulance calls involved bringing someone to an emergency department. More than a quarter of the calls (26%) involved transferring a patient from one hospital to another. Twenty-two percent consisted of helping someone on site but did not require bringing them to the hospital. The number of Declined Interfacility Transfer calls has increased 750% (from 14 calls to 119 calls) since 2018 because hospitals are requesting more help, and the number of fire department staff members to assist with those calls has gone down.
Details: An Emergency Department Transportation is defined as any 911 call where someone is brought to an emergency department. An Evaluation with No Transportation Needed is any 911 call when someone is evaluated and does not need transportation. A Hospital Transfer Request is when someone is being driven between hospitals, such as from Mayo-Red Wing to Mayo-Rochester or another hospital. Cancelled are calls that are recorded but canceled before arrival. Declined Interfacility Transfer calls are requests the Fire Department must decline because there is not enough staff to do this job – transferring patients from one hospital to another.
Source: City of Red Wing Fire Department, 2018-2023
Who Gets Charged for Ambulance Runs
Summary: In 2020 and 2021, more than 70% of Red Wing’s ambulance fees were billed to government-subsidized programs such as Medicare or Medical Assistance. 21% were billed to private insurance companies, and only 8% were billed directly to patients. Ambulance services across the state are not primarily supported by taxes like police and fire services are. Instead, ambulance services are billed to the individual who uses the service—or to the government program or insurance company that covers the individual.
Details: Medicare is the federal health insurance for people 65 years and older and for certain young people with disabilities. Medical Assistance (often called Medicaid) is a prepaid medical assistance program for people aged 64 or lower with low incomes. Private insurance companies are those through the workplace or the open marketplace. Self-pay includes payments made directly from a patient or through a collection agency.
Source: City of Red Wing Fire Department, 2022
Ambulance Fees: Paid and Unpaid in 2021
Summary: In 2021, Red Wing’s ambulance service charged $6.8 million, but the City only received $2.5 million in payments. As shown on the graph, Medical Assistance was only required to pay 20% of the average Red Wing ambulance bill for its patients; Medicare was only required to pay 23%. Private insurance companies paid about half the amount they were billed, and private residents paid just 10%. Like other communities around the state, Red Wing faces challenges with recouping its ambulance expenses—in large part because of federal reimbursement rules. To lessen the debt, City Council has been allocating some tax dollars to the ambulance service. That amount was $250,000 in 2021.
Details: By law, patients who qualify for Medicare and Medical Assistance cannot be billed for ambulance services. Instead, the programs are billed. Unfortunately, those programs are only required to reimburse the City at a low rate—less than one-quarter of what the local ambulance fees were in 2021. The City continues to encourage changes in how the state and federal governments reimburse local ambulance services so this service can be self-sustaining in the future.
Source: City of Red Wing Fire Department, 2022
Ambulance Assistance: Number of Residents and Non-Residents
Summary: Almost 30% of all billed ambulance calls are to help people who live outside the city limits, including visitors and those just passing through town. People who live outside the city limits are billed at a higher rate than residents. Red Wing’s ambulance service covers 262 square miles, while the city limits are only 42 square miles.
Details: Residents are defined as people who live within the city limits; this includes most of the Prairie Island Indian Community. Non-residents are defined as people who live in neighboring areas such as Hay Creek Township, Wacouta, and Frontenac, along with tourists, visitors, and people driving through our community.
Source: City of Red Wing Fire Department, 2023