Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Emergency Medical Services topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board approves five-year amendment, $300,000-a-year subsidy for Mercy Medical Transportation
Summary
The Mariposa County Board of Supervisors approved as part of the consent agenda an amendment extending Mercy Medical Transportation's agreement to five years and adding a county subsidy to support ambulance operations and data collection to inform future service planning.
The Mariposa County Board of Supervisors on June 10 approved an amendment to Mercy Medical Transportation's contract that extends the agreement to five years and increases the county commitment by $1.2 million, bringing the total not to exceed $1.5 million and authorizing up to $300,000 annually in county subsidy.
Health and Human Services Agency staff told the board Mercy was the only respondent to a 2024 request for proposals that advertised a five-year service term; the original contract paperwork had mistakenly been recorded as a one-year agreement. "This is amending that contract from 1 year to 5 years, to match what our RFP stated," Christina Cahillie said, explaining the change.
Cahillie and other county officials said the subsidy is intended to keep ambulance service viable in Mariposa’s rural service area because reimbursement rates for transports are low. "Mercy is reimbursed at a very low rate for transports. That is not sustainable for this area to continue what they do here. And so without the subsidy, they would not be able to operate, as the rates are right now," Cahillie said.
The amended agreement also directs Mercy to collect and share operational data, including response-time information, to help the county plan future ambulance contracts and to inform public expectations about realistic response times in rural areas. Cahillie said Mercy had recently implemented a new data system that should make those metrics more available to the county.
Supervisor discussion framed the subsidy as necessary to preserve local emergency medical transport. Supervisor comments noted the county budgetary impact was relatively small in the broader context and emphasized the human cost of losing ambulance coverage.
The amendment was part of the consent agenda approved by a 5-0 vote. The consent motion, moved by Supervisor Menitrea and seconded by Supervisor Toso, passed with all supervisors voting in favor.
County staff said no grant funding currently covers the $300,000 annual subsidy; the payment reflects a county operating subsidy to sustain service rather than a reimbursed grant. The board did not adopt additional subsidy conditions beyond the requirement that Mercy provide the agreed-upon data.
The board will receive further performance and data updates as Mercy submits the monitoring information identified in the amended contract.
