Minnesota EMS leaders push Legislature for roughly $50 million, higher Medicaid rates to shore up rural ambulance services

Emergency medical services providers, local officials and state lawmakers warned that Minnesota's ambulance system is strained and urged the Legislature to approve roughly $50 million in new annual funding and higher Medicaid reimbursement rates to stabilize rural services.

"These are our neighbors, friends, and family members. Real people in the need, real people in need of help during their most vulnerable moments," Michael Johnson, president of the Minnesota Ambulance Association and community paramedicine coordinator for Mayo Clinic Ambulance, said while outlining the scope of the problem. Johnson said the association represents over 90% of ground ambulance volume in Minnesota and that ground ambulance services served more than 600,000 Minnesotans in 2024.

The ask: short-term emergency funding plus policy changes

Advocates described two central problems: funding and workforce. Johnson said the association's priority this session is "a roughly, $50,000,000 increase [in] Medicaid reimbursement rates to reflect the true cost of providing emergency medical care" and continued support for workforce programs such as EMT and paramedic scholarships, first-responder training and high-school EMS programs.

"This is a moral imperative issue," Sen. Grant Hochschild, who represents a large rural district, said, arguing that rural areas cannot sustain ambulance services under current funding and payer…