EMS privatization didn’t work out

Privatization has not been a great model for providing emergency medical services in Galveston County.

Eighteen months ago, public officials were talking about the savings that would be realized when GoldStar took over for Rural Metro.

Rural Metro, citing low revenues, was not interested in restructuring its contract to provide service to central Galveston County.

Some company officials said at the time they had bid the contract on the low side. They were not interested in submitting a lower bid.

GoldStar’s bid was breathtakingly low.

But GoldStar, which is seeking bankruptcy protection, was not completely healthy financially.

Public officials were in court Friday, trying to make sure the company’s ambulances stayed in the county — at least until another service could be put in place.

Officials reassured the public there would be no disruption of service. But it would be a mistake to keep looking for a private company to provide an essential service.

Companies that desperately need additional revenue will continue to submit low bids.

The low costs look good. But this is not a recipe for ensuring that a large part of the county has reliable, stable service.

Several systems are in place in the county.

The area that has been served by private companies takes in Texas City, La Marque, Dickinson and Hitchcock, as well as some unincorporated areas.

League City and Santa Fe operate their own ambulance services. Four volunteer fire departments serve the Bolivar Peninsula.

Galveston has its own service, operated through the county health district.

The mainland cities that are looking for a long-term solution have three options:

• Texas City, the largest city in the mid-county belt, could set up its own system. It might then contract with other communities for service.

• The cities in the area and the county could contract with the health district to provide the services.

• These governments could set up an emergency medical services district to provide the service.

Although talks are just getting started, there’s a good argument for creating a district to provide this service.

It would take a vote of the people to do that. And those same people will pay the bills.

One reason we have gotten to the point where we are today is that everyone wants reliable, stable service. But we’ve never focused on the key question: Who will pay for it?

Creating a district would allow voters to look at the proposed services and the costs. They’d decide the key question.