Commissioners for Whidbey General Hospital will ask voters next fall to renew the levy that supports emergency medical services for the entire island.

The levy amount voters will be asked to approve is 50 cents per $1,000 of assessed property valuation for the next six years. This is 13 cents, or 35 percent, more than the levy approved in 2002.

Scott Rhine, hospital CEO, said EMS costs were reviewed and there’s not enough money coming in to break even. He said this is partially due to the continuing drop in amounts insurance companies and government agencies are willing to pay for services.

The levy, combined with patient fees and money from the hospital budget, maintains emergency medical services on Whidbey Island. Expenses include staffing four paramedic units around the clock, training EMTs, replacing ambulances and other equipment. Some of the levy proceeds will cover completing the second phase of a plan that calls for building quarters for paramedics to sleep overnight on the hospital campus.

Finances were foremost in hospital commissioners’ minds on Monday night.

The commissioners approved a 2006 operating budget that shows the hospital $2.6 million in the black, a 4 percent positive operating margin.

The 2006 budget includes a 6.1 percent increase in revenue, earned primarily from a 4 percent increase in rates for patient services and from the new Sleep Disorders Center in Oak Harbor.

Also, the hospital achieves federal Critical Access hospital designation Jan. 1, which means Medicare will pay higher rates for patient care.

On the other side of the 2006 ledger, expenses are projected to increase 7.2 percent, the rises expected in utilities, service agreements, new information systems, education and training.

Doug Bishop, hospital chief financial officer, said writing the projected 2006 budget was easier this year because of the rise in Medicare reimbursements and the expected quicker payment for patient services.

On the other hand, a number of “unknowns” and unresolved Medicare payment issues could alter the financial picture, he said.

As a result, he wrote what he termed a “conservative” budget.

One set of figures shows the hospital closing the 2005 books with a loss of $164,131. But if the outstanding Medicare payments are settled in the hospital’s favor, Whidbey General could close the year with $1 million in its coffers above expenses.