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Maryland EMS agency budget rises as lawmakers press for details on stalled Critical Care Coordination Center
Summary
Analysts and MEMS leaders briefed the House appropriations subcommittee on MEMS's $25.8 million fiscal 2026 allowance, growing personnel costs and a plan to restart the Critical Care Coordination Center (C4) that has been in hibernation since June 2024 because grant funding expired.
The Health and Social Services Subcommittee heard Jan. 29 that the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems (MEMS) has a fiscal 2026 allowance of $25,800,000, $3,000,000 more than fiscal 2025, as lawmakers pressed the agency on emergency department strain and the status of a suspended statewide coordination center.
The Department of Legislative Services analyst Naomi Kimura told the subcommittee the increase “is really driven by an increase in cost related to personnel for salary increases and fringe benefits,” and noted the budget includes a $390,000 federally funded pilot from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to map hospital bed capacity nationwide.
The DLS presentation flagged emergency-department transfer times as a core problem. “The average of all states in the U.S. is 163…
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