Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the NEMT Vs EMS topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
TAC urges clearer distinction between NEMT and licensed ambulance services
Summary
Committee members told DMS that legislators and others often conflate NEMT wheelchair-broker services and licensed ambulance EMS, skewing funding expectations; DMS said it could consider payment methodology if licensure for nonemergency stretcher services were established.
Members told the TAC that confusion persists among legislators and other agencies that treats NEMT (wheelchair van brokers) the same as licensed ambulance EMS. One committee member noted the sharp difference in capital and staffing costs: "It cost me $62,000, and I got 1 attendant that works on it, versus an ambulance that cost me $300,000. I have to have 2 people." The point was that legislators often compare NEMT budget figures to ambulance costs and misjudge EMS expenses.
A DMS representative said the agency has no problem creating a payment methodology for licensed nonemergency stretcher transport if an appropriate licensure and provider type is established (licensure would likely fall to the EMS board or another entity). That speaker also said state law reserves stretcher use to ambulances: "ambulances are only ones that are allowed by state law to utilize stretchers." Committee members agreed the state needs clearer messaging and possibly a licensure work group to prevent ambulance costs from being conflated with brokered NEMT budgets.
Provenance: topicintro SEG 902, topfinish SEG 1270.
