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Board adopts ordinance updating Fort Smith ambulance service rate language to reference state index
Summary
The board adopted an ordinance updating the municipal code to reference the state rate index for ambulance services established by recent state legislation and approved emergency clause.
The Fort Smith Board of Directors unanimously adopted an ordinance June 17 amending section 12-32 of the municipal code to update the city’s ambulance service rates to reference the state rate index established by Act 867 (2025), which aligns local code language with the Arkansas legislature’s change to tie allowable ambulance charges to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Medicare ambulance fee schedule (rural rate index).
Fort Smith EMS Director Tim Hearn was present for questions, and administration said the change will avoid repeated dollar-amount amendments to the city code if the state adjusts its index in the future. The board approved the ordinance and separately adopted the emergency clause by 6-0 roll call votes.
What’s next: The ordinance takes effect under the adopted emergency clause; the code will now reference the state rate index as the basis for allowable ambulance charges rather than listing fixed dollar amounts.
