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Committee advances amended ambulance funding formula, raises per‑run cap and phases in protections for smallest services
Summary
The House Human Services Committee approved amendments to the EMS grant formula in House Bill 1597: the run‑threshold was adjusted to 800, the maximum reimbursement per run was set at $2,023, and the smallest providers will be phased in with a minimum initial grant value to soften the transition. The panel voted to recommend the bill.
The House Human Services Committee approved amendments to House Bill 1597 that adjust the state’s emergency medical services grant formula, change the run‑threshold used to classify small and large operators, set a maximum per‑run reimbursement, and add a transition floor to protect very small providers in the first distribution year.
Sponsor Representative Figley said the amendments strike a balance by holding most services "harmless" while moving the formula toward an updated reimbursement approach. Bill Kolonik of the North Dakota EMS Association told the committee the 800‑run threshold is not a scientifically derived cutoff but "an easily identifiable line where the smaller services generally were below that line and the larger services were significantly above that line." Kolonik said the number has been used in prior sessions to avoid large redistributions that would unexpectedly change grant recipients.
Key elements approved in committee include: changing the operational threshold to 800 runs per year (correcting a drafting error in earlier text that referenced 700); setting the maximum reimbursement per run at $2,023 for grant calculations; and a transitional provision that requires the minimum total grant calculation for each operation, after deductions, to be at least 50% of its prior amount for grants distributed through June 2026. The transitional floor was described as a temporary measure to avoid sudden funding drops for extremely small services that currently receive comparatively large grants due to the prior formula.
Committee members discussed local impacts and whether the new threshold or caps would cause losses in particular districts. Representative Rohrer asked whether sponsoring lawmakers had consulted directly with ambulance services likely to be affected; representatives said they had reviewed maps and run volumes and intended the changes to be equitable statewide. Representative Dobrevitch moved the bill out of committee with a recommendation to pass as amended. The committee approved the amendments and later approved a do‑pass recommendation; the roll call recorded 11 yes and 2 no on final passage in committee.
