A hearing officer rejected Southwest Ambulance’s allegations that the firm lost Scottsdale’s lucrative 911 contract due to bias and a faulty selection process, a ruling released Tuesday states.
The ruling closed more than a year of public squabbling between Southwest and Professional Medical Transport. The companies fought for the roughly $6 million a year in ambulance billing Scottsdale residents generate.
In S eptember, a cityappointed panel chose PMT, then a smaller non-emergency firm, over Southwest, an industry Goliath.
Southwest filed a protest that accused its rival of violating federal anti-kickback laws and the panel of bias.
“The contentions made by (Southwest) fall into the broad category of speculation and in many instances, bottomless inference,” hearing officer William Chamberlain said.
Though Southwest could appeal in a lawsuit to Maricopa County Superior Court, Southwest spokesman Josh Weiss said the firm will let the matter end with Chamberlain’s ruling.
