Committee hears bill to allow University of Missouri ambulance service into ground ambulance reimbursement program (House Bill 1133)

Representative Martin introduced House Bill 1133 to remove language that had excluded entities owned and operated by the state (including hospital services run by the University of Missouri board of curators) from participation in the ambulance service reimbursement allowance program.

As written currently, the statute excludes certain state‑owned entities from the provider assessment that feeds into a federal reimbursement program. The bill would strike that exclusion for the University of Missouri, allowing the university’s ground ambulance operation to pay the ambulance service reimbursement allowance tax and thereby participate in the federal drawdown that helps fund ground ambulance services.

“The University of Missouri… would then pay that tax, would put them then in eligibility for this Federal reimbursement allowance,” the sponsor said, describing the change as aligning the university with other ambulance services that already participate. The fiscal note in the hearing materials estimated an approximate $60,000 effect on general revenue from the assessment amount, and the sponsor said the change would allow the university to draw federal funds (a federal match) that can increase funding available to emergency medical services.

Representatives and witnesses from the Missouri Ambulance Association and University Health Care testified in favor. Brent Tim Hill of the Missouri Ambulance Association described the program as similar to the hospital FRA (provider assessment) and said the state has used such mechanisms to draw substantial federal matches to support provider reimbursement. University witnesses and ambulance managers said the change would allow them to access the federal match that other ground ambulance providers receive.

Why it matters: The change would enable a hospital‑based ambulance service to participate in a statewide provider assessment/federal match program that supports ambulance funding. Supporters described the change as correcting an apparent historical omission and noted it would help the ambulance service draw federal reimbursement dollars. The fiscal note attached to the bill estimated the assessment payment in the tens of thousands, and the federal drawdown could be larger; the transcript indicates committee members asked for more detailed fiscal estimates.

The committee received testimony in support and concluded the hearing; no final committee vote on HB 1133 is recorded in the excerpt.