CABELL COUNTY, W.Va. (WCHS) — Cabell County EMS raised its transportation services rates at the beginning of October in order to cover rising costs along with other reasons.

Working in the emergency medical services field can be a very mentally and physically demanding job, Director of Cabell County EMS Veronica Swope hopes to see a new rate increase for it's transportation services be able to provide paramedics with a wage more suited to the importance of their work in the future.

"It has always been that most people in EMS, if this is your job, and you don't just do this part time," Swope said. "Most of us have two jobs. Because one job is not enough to pay the bills. We want to try to change that culture."

Starting in October, Cabell EMS raised the rates for its transportation services by nearly 200%. Swope said the increase in the rates were necessary with the cost of their equipment continuing to rise.

"Ultimately the money that we will get, everything goes back into the service, whether that means we get new monitors," Swope said. "We are in need of new EKG monitors and the price that we were quoted for the 42 monitors was $2.2 million."

Swope said around 60% of the public with Medicaid and Medicare will not even realize the rates have increased. However people with commercial insurances or private pay will notice the change. Swope said despite the increase, Cabell EMS has ways to help people who may struggle to foot the bill.

"We have a program, a charity program," Swope said. "If you qualify, that's based on how much money you make and how many people are in your household. We also do take payments. We can work with people through that. We're not trying to send anybody into bankruptcy over an ambulance bill."