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EMS director reports lower call volumes, training plans and potential $100K–$150K GEMT reimbursement
Summary
EMS Director Joel Knutson reported 71 calls in August, staff training and EMT course plans, and said a GEMT reimbursement process could yield roughly $100,000–$150,000 in annual revenue if the county participates and budgets the required monthly contribution.
Joel Knutson, the county’s EMS director, updated the Board of Supervisors Sept. 3 on department operations, staffing and a federal reimbursement opportunity.
Knutson said the service ran 71 calls in August, down from a busier July. He gave vehicle-mileage figures for three medic units, described efforts to recruit and train staff through local high-school anatomy classes and a winter EMT course offered through North Iowa Community College (NICC), and said a paramedic currently completing training should increase the service’s ALS capacity next spring.
Knutson discussed the Ground Emergency Medical Transportation (GEMT) program as a potential revenue source. Based on initial estimates and state formulas, he said GEMT could bring the service roughly $100,000 to $150,000 annually. He explained that the GEMT process requires the service to submit prior-year financials to the state during an Aug.–Nov. collection window, pay a monthly trigger contribution (discussed as roughly one-third of the expected payment) to IOHHS to unlock federal matching funds, and then receive an annual reconciliation and payment the following fiscal year. Knutson said the department’s billing vendor (PCC) is collecting the necessary data and that he plans to consult a third-party implementer, Public Consulting Group, to set up GEMT in the first year.
Knutson cautioned that GEMT comes with budgeting complexities — services must budget the monthly contribution they will write to the state to trigger federal payments — and suggested that hiring outside help in year one may be prudent to ensure correct setup. He said he will report back to the board as data and implementation milestones are reached.
