Senate Finance hears proposal to suspend ambulance provider tax for three years, backfill from pilot fund

Sen. Chittenden introduced S.31 to the Senate Committee on Finance, a bill that would temporarily suspend the ambulance agency provider tax for fiscal years 2026, 2027 and 2028 and direct the commissioner of finance and management to transfer an equivalent amount from the pilot special fund to the general fund.

The sponsor said the proposal is meant to put more money directly with emergency medical services providers while drawing on accumulated pilot special fund balances. "Since, like, I wanna say 02/1718, for a while, we've been taxing the state is taxing 3.2% to when an insurance company sends a reimbursement for an ambulatory service," Sen. Chittenden said, and she described the bill as a way to connect that revenue stream to local needs.

Jen Karger of the Office of Legislative Council told the committee the ambulance assessment is 3.3% of an agency's annual net patient revenue. "The annual assessment is 3.3% of the ambulance…