News

The Minnesota Ambulance Association is seeking RFPs for a Mental Health & Wellness Summit for EMS providers and professionals in August, 2023.

View full details here: 2023.05_RFP_WellnessEducation_Final.pdf

Proposals are due June 14, 2023. 

Questions and proposals can be sent to office@mnems.org 

Dear Ground Ambulance Providers and Suppliers,

Starting January 1, 2023, ground ambulance organizations selected in  Year 1 and Year 2 are required to report cost, utilization, revenue, and other information to CMS within 5 months after your data collection period ends. Organizations that fail to report may be subject to a 10% payment reduction. 

Ground ambulance organizations selected in Year 3 and Year 4 will begin collecting data in 2023 and reporting data beginning in 2024. 

Medicare Ground Ambulance Data Collection System: Office Hours Session — April 27

Thursday, April 27 from 2–3 pm ET

Register for this webinar.                      

We divided the office hours session into 2 topics:

• 2–2:30 pm: CMS will answer live questions on the data collection requirements (such as what am I required to collect and when do I report?).  This part of the session is for all selected organizations in Years 1–4.
• 2:30–3 pm: We’ll answer live questions about registering and requesting access to the Medicare Ground Ambulance Data Collection System portal. This part is for selected organizations in Years 1–2 who are required to report beginning in 2023.

Visit Medicare Ground Ambulance Data Collection System for:

• Lists of ground ambulance organizations selected in Years 1–2 required to collect information starting in 2022 and report information starting in 2023
• Organizations selected in Years 3–4 required to collect information starting in 2023 and report information starting in 2024
• FAQs

CMS has opened registration for the first set of meetings for the Ground Ambulance and Patient Billing Advisory Committee (GAPBAC). The meetings are scheduled for May 2 and 3. To register for the virtual meetings, please click here.

The formal notice of the meetings was posted in today’s Federal Register. To access a copy of the formal notice, please click here.

The Minnesota Ambulance Association is proud to honor our 2023 Star of Life recipients. Each recipient was nominated by their peers and organization. 

We congratulate all of our Star of Life recipients and look forward to celebrating with you at our Star of Life event on March 23, 2023. 

Get to Know Our 2023 Stars

EMS Medical Directors & ambulance service leaders urge lawmakers to take action and bolster critical ambulance services
 

St. Paul — EMS providers across Minnesota are confronting serious challenges as they face staff and volunteer shortages and increased demand for emergency medical services, EMS leaders said at a State Capitol press conference today. 
 
Advocates gathered in St. Paul to meet with lawmakers and encourage action this year to bolster ambulance services.
 
In the 1980s, the federal government began decreasing financial support for ambulance services, leaving local services responsible for funding. Today that contributes to financial pressures – the price tag to operate one ambulance with 24/7, 365 on-call access is close to $1 million annually. And that’s with many rural EMS programs dependent on “volunteers,” who are often modestly compensated but not at levels truly commensurate with the time they give and the services they provide.
 
Each year ambulance service providers throughout the state respond to nearly 715,000 calls for service annually using 804 individual ambulances. All Minnesotans count on EMTs and Paramedics throughout our state to provide not only transportation, but high-quality out-of-hospital care to keep Minnesotans safe and healthy.
 
Dr. Aaron Burnett practices Emergency Medicine at Regions Hospital in St. Paul and Lakeview Hospital in Stillwater. He serves as an EMS Medical Director for several agencies in the Twin Cities East Metro. He believes in the importance of strong pre-hospital patient care and has witnessed the building pressure on EMS and ambulance services.
 
“This is probably one of the most important things coming up in the next 10 to 20 years as our population gets older and older,” said Dr. Burnett. “As a state we shouldn’t wait until there’s a public outcry because people can’t get an ambulance in a timely manner. Every day citizens in Minnesota rely on EMS services for emergency care. We owe it to those patients to ensure our EMS system is appropriately supported and funded at the state level.”
 
Dylan Ferguson became executive director of Minnesota’s Emergency Medical Services Regulatory Board in February 2022. His organization has compiled data showing the workforce shortage in EMS, as workers leave the field in pursuit of better pay and working conditions. 

• Of EMTs not renewing their license and leaving the profession, nearly 65% are under the age of 40
• In 2021, 4,474 certifications expired while 1,558 certifications were issued – a deficit of 2,916 EMS providers
• 39% of EMS providers leaving the profession said their decision was influenced by low pay 

“Minnesotans depend on emergency medical services every day,” said EMSRB executive director Dylan Ferguson. “As the state's lead agency for emergency medical services we are working together with our fellow government agencies, officials, and health care and community leaders to reverse these concerning trends and ensure a sustainable system.”
 
EMS leaders shared solutions to the workforce and funding challenges and encouraged lawmakers to talk with providers in their areas to learn more about these issues: 

• Increased reimbursement levels from the Federal Government and State Government by realizing opportunities to leverage more Federal dollars for Governmental payers. Legislation will be introduced soon to address opportunities.
• A focus on improving retention of the current EMS workforce, such as the income tax subtractions for Volunteer Fire & Rescue Workers in HF 98
• Development and support for future EMS workforce, including Establishment of a Paramedic Scholarship Program, HF 165, and funding for current and new EMTs under HF 141 

Stevens County EMS Director Josh Fischer noted that navigating increased gas costs has been particularly difficult at the same time as a worker shortage.
 
“We still have to respond, we still have patients that need to be cared for and transported and we can’t simply increase what we bill because what we bill doesn’t correspond with what we actually get paid when we’re talking about Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement," said Fischer. “We need our elected officials at all levels to help us pursue sustainable solutions to these challenges.”

We are so excited to announce that Stars of Life will be returning to MN in March 2023. 

Nominations will open in January, watch your email for announcements. 

Sponsorships opportunities are available! Email office@mnems.org for more information. 

Congress has extended the Medicare add-ons for ground ambulance services by two years, until 2024 (Section 4103) as part of the Omnibus package. 

It takes a village and we want to thank everyone who took part in the letter writing campaign, attended hill visits, or reached out to your elected officials and encouraged them to support ground ambulance services. 

NOTE: The Omnibus bill is more than 4,000 pages long. The American Ambulance Association advocacy team is still in the process of reviewing the full text and will provide a full update in a webinar in early 2023. We will share a link to that webinar when it is available. 

The Minnesota Ambulance Association's Rural Resource Center, with support from partners, recently completed a Gaps Analysis of resources available to EMS agencies, specifically resources that support the sustainability of rural EMS agencies. 

We want to thank all of our partners who provided input and perspective on this project and the many individuals and organizations who work tirelessly on the development and delivery of existing resources. 

View the 2022 Gaps Analysis here. 

This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $30,000 with 100 percent funded by HRSA/HHS and $0 and 0 percent funded by nongovernment source(s). The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA/HHS, or the U.S. Government.