Ambulance service rates for the City of Newton are increasing by 1.4 percent in 2018. City council approved the rate changes which range from $6 to $18 depending on the service. “There is a modest increase over last year,” Newton Fire Chief Jarrod Wellik said. “Each year those numbers are set by Medicare.” The Center for Medicare Services releases the fee schedule toward the beginning of the year, this year in February. Wellmark, the largest insurance provider that reimburses the department for ambulance services, set its current rate schedule based on a factor of 1.7 times the established Medicare rates.