A group of EMS officials from throughout the state gathered in St. Paul to highlight a need for more funding and a restructuring of systems. 

Erik Simonson, a lobbyist with the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities, an organization that lobbied for EMS funding last session, feels hopeful the Legislature will continue to fund the industry beyond a one-time infusion last year to stay afloat – even amid uncertainty with current negotiations.

“I think what you’re seeing right now in the Legislature will work itself out. It will happen in a matter of however much time it takes,” he said.  “I think so many (legislators) said as they were on their way out the door at the end of May, ‘We put a band-aid on the problem, we’ve got to come back in 2025 and find a long term, sustainable solution.’ Now what that is will be shaped by this Legislature in 2025 but I am confident that there are folks on both sides of the political aisle that are willing to roll up their sleeves and figure out how to get that done in a way that provides enough financial support so that people don’t have to worry about, are we going to be here next year?”

EMS is one of the top priorities for the House Health Finance and Policy Committee, said Rep. Jeff Backer, R-Browns Valley, who is the committee’s co-chair along with Rep. Robert Bierman, DFL-Apple Valley. 

“Last year was a band-aid, but it was an important band-aid. … We do need to do more stuff with EMS,” Backer said at the event. 

Backer himself is a volunteer EMT, who knows about the difficulties facing the industry, including workforce challenges and the fact that more rural EMS systems often receive lower reimbursement rates because many of their patients rely on Medicare and Medicaid. Last year, he helped author legislation for EMS funds. He said they’ll need time though to put together a plan. 

“Exactly what happens is going to be interesting if we don’t get together ’til the end of March … that’s going to create some challenges. If we can get together sooner, then we have more time,” he said. 

The governor’s budget proposal announced in January allocates funds for the newly established Office of Emergency Medical Services. Those proposed funds would go to things like operating expenses and grants. 

The Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities is advocating this session for additional funding for EMS, as the group thinks the systems have to be well funded in order to work on longer-term strategies to help with workforce and systemic issues.

“If we don’t fix the financial challenge, we can’t touch any of those, right? It just becomes super difficult to try to find those kinds of solutions if we don’t have the money and keep the doors open,” Simonson said. “If we can fix the funding problem once and for all, and then let a lot of these great minds come to work and figure out ways to do things better and more efficiently.”

At the event, officials stressed the need for a longer-term solution that goes further than funding, though funding would help EMS systems that are struggling to stay afloat. Because of the financial and staffing hardships, among other challenges, many EMS providers have considered merging with another service provider, but that’s not always the best for patients. 

“I do think there are a lot of opportunities with consolidation and reducing overhead and sharing expertise,” said Becca Huebsch, the director of Perham Area EMS. “The challenge is … consolidation that’s planned and expected and not out of desperation. It’s one thing when you’re choosing to consolidate because it makes good business sense and you can continue to support your service areas. It’s another thing when you (have) two failing ambulances that say we can’t have two ambulances anymore, what can we do differently? And I think those are different situations, and maybe that’s not consolidation, maybe that’s actually a failure.”

Ava Kian

Ava Kian is MinnPost’s Greater Minnesota reporter. Follow her on Twitter @kian_ava or email her at [email protected].

The post EMS industry hopeful it’s a legislative priority, despite uncertainty appeared first on MinnPost.

This post was shared from MinnPost.