Purpose of the Bill

The bill is designed to provide financial aid to certain licensed ambulance services in Minnesota. Its primary goal is to allocate funds to help these services cover costs associated with providing emergency medical services (EMS) in their designated areas.

Main Provisions

• Eligibility for Aid: Ambulance services with a response density of 30 responses per square mile or fewer can apply for assistance. Response density is calculated by dividing the number of EMS responses by the square mileage of the service area.

• Exclusion of Specialized Services: EMS responses by specialized life support services are not included when calculating response density or aid payments.

• Treatment of License Holders: If an ambulance service has multiple licenses through a parent company or subsidiaries, their collective service areas are treated as a single entity for calculation purposes.

• Calculation of Aid Payments: Aid payments are determined through a specific formula that considers various factors, including the total square mileage of the service area (capped at 1200 square miles) and the EMS response points calculated from the number of responses. The funding is split into different percentages to ensure fair distribution based on need and service coverage.

• Use of Funds: Aid recipients must use the funds strictly for expenses incurred within their primary service area. Any unspent funds after two years must be returned.

• Reporting Requirements: Aid recipients must report annually on how they have used the funds. The director will compile these reports and submit them to relevant legislative committees.

• Appropriation of Funds: The bill allocates $15 million per fiscal year for 2026 and 2027 from the general fund to the Office of Emergency Medical Services for distribution to eligible ambulance services.

Significant Changes to Existing Law

This bill introduces a structured financial support system for low-density ambulance services, which might not have been previously available, enhancing their capacity to serve wide or sparsely populated areas effectively.

Relevant Terms

ambulance services, EMS responses, response density, specialized life support, aid payments, appropriation, fiscal year, Minnesota state ambulance reporting system.