Minnesota bill seeks to widen community EMT certification paths and raise treatment pay

Senate File 2128, introduced to the Senate Health and Human Services Finance and Policy Committee, would revise certification requirements for community emergency medical technicians to create alternative educational pathways and increase pay for on-scene treatment.

Senator Seaburger, the bill author, told the committee the change would make community EMT certification "more accessible" by permitting healthcare systems and educational programming as alternatives to the traditional college and university route. The bill also would change the payment schedule for community EMTs: testimony described an increase to $25 per 15-minute increment and $100 per hour of treatment.

Dylan Ferguson, director of the Office of Emergency Medical Services, told the committee the office is "quite supportive" of community EMS programs at both the EMT and paramedic level and said community EMS creates career pathways for providers who can no longer perform all 9-1-1 duties. Ferguson recommended some technical language cleanup related to education sections but otherwise expressed support for the bill's goals.

Senator Luske asked how the new per-interval rates were derived; Seaburger said the proposed amounts were intended to align more closely with market rates for EMTs and with the value of services billed in the field. No fiscal or revenue estimate was offered during the committee discussion.

The committee laid Senate File 2128 over for possible inclusion.

Supporters and commentators urged continued attention to training pathways and parity between reimbursement and the operational costs and readiness that ambulance services carry.