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Committee amends EMS assistance formula; amendment to phase down loss for services near new thresholds passes unanimously
Summary
The Senate Human Services Committee heard House Bill 1597 to revise the rural EMS assistance grant formula. An amendment providing phased 'step down' reductions for services that fall above or below the new 800-run threshold passed 6-0.
Bill Kolonik, representing the North Dakota EMS Association, presented House Bill 1597 to the Senate Human Services Committee as an update to the formula used to distribute the state’s rural EMS assistance grant.
Kolonik told the committee the bill adjusts the average cost per run and raises the threshold for eligibility while implementing phased reductions to avoid abrupt grant losses for services whose call volume fluctuates near the cutoff. He described a proposed amendment that would apply a step-down approach for both low-volume services losing eligibility and services that exceed the upper threshold.
Why it matters: The rural EMS assistance grant supplements ambulance operations that otherwise receive limited reimbursement for runs. Committee members and presenters said the changes are intended to make the formula fairer and to prevent small providers from being abruptly cut off.
Key committee action - Senator Hogan moved a proposed amendment to House Bill 1597 that implements a stepped phase-down for services that fall below the new eligibility threshold (800 runs per year) and for services that exceed the upper limit; Senator Roars seconded the motion.
- The committee approved the amendment on a roll call vote, 6-0 (Ayes: Lee, Weston, Roars, Hogan, Van Osteen, Clemens). The amendment passed and will be incorporated into the bill’s formula for the upcoming biennium.
What witnesses said - Kolonik said the formula changes reflect updated data on average cost per run and seek to mitigate abrupt funding losses. He explained the change from the prior 700-run threshold and the need to balance support for low-volume services while addressing those whose call volumes have grown.
- Committee members asked for details about how much individual services would receive under the new formula; Kolonik offered to provide a breakdown and noted that the changes were intended to smooth grant impacts across the next two biennia.
Next steps - The committee adopted the amendment and left the underlying bill for further consideration. Kolonik and staff agreed to provide the committee with a service-level breakdown showing how the revised formula would affect grants under the amended language.
