Paramedic services in Weld County will soon be handled by North Colorado Medical Center Inc. and its operating partner, Banner Health, in a move that officials say will save millions in taxpayer dollars.

The county has had to write off about $11 million in unpaid bills the past three years related to its paramedic services, county officials said Tuesday. It collected only about 25 percent of its billable services last year.

"This past year, we almost got to the point where we had to subsidize the program for the first time ever," County Commissioner Sean Conway said. "It was clear that the current model could not be sustained."

Under the deal, the hospital would pay about $802,000 for the assets of the Weld County Paramedic Services. The deal will take effect May 7, so long as commissioners give it their final OK Monday. A yes vote is expected.

The county has been providing ambulance services in Weld since 1974.

Along with the problem of unpaid paramedic services bills, officials timed the move with President Obama's health care reforms. Conway explained that the law would discontinue Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements to the county for its ambulance services.

Beginning in