1.1 A bill for an act
1.2 relating to health; establishing a rural EMS uncompensated care pool payment
1.3 program; appropriating money.
1.4BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
1.5 Section 1. RURAL EMS UNCOMPENSATED CARE POOL PAYMENT PROGRAM.
1.6 Subdivision 1.Definitions.(a) For purposes of this section, the following terms have
1.7the meanings given.
1.8 (b) "Director" has the meaning given in Minnesota Statutes, section 144E.001, subdivision
1.916.
1.10 (c) "Eligible licensee" means a licensee that primarily provides ambulance services
1.11outside the metropolitan counties listed in Minnesota Statutes, section 473.121, subdivision
1.124.
1.13 (d) "Licensee" has the meaning given in Minnesota Statutes, section 144E.001,
1.14subdivision 8.
1.15 (e) "Public safety answering point" has the meaning given in Minnesota Statutes, section
1.16403.02, subdivision 19.
1.17 Subd. 2.Payment program established.The director must establish and administer a
1.18rural EMS uncompensated care pool payment program. Under the program, the director
1.19must make payments to eligible licensees according to this section.
1Section 1.
REVISOR AGW/LJ 25-0260702/05/25
State of Minnesota
This Document can be made available
in alternative formats upon request
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
H. F. No. 696
NINETY-FOURTH SESSION
Authored by Backer02/13/2025
The bill was read for the first time and referred to the Committee on Health Finance and Policy 2.1 Subd. 3.Excluded responses.The director must exclude EMS responses by specialized
2.2life support, as described in Minnesota Statutes, section 144E.101, subdivision 9, in
2.3calculating payments under this section.
2.4 Subd. 4.Application process.(a) An eligible licensee seeking a payment under this
2.5section must apply to the director by March 31, 2026, in the form and manner determined
2.6by the director. In the application, the eligible licensee must specify the number of the
2.7eligible licensee's EMS responses that meet the criteria in subdivision 5.
2.8 (b) When an eligible licensee, an eligible licensee's parent company, a subsidiary of an
2.9eligible licensee, or a subsidiary of an eligible licensee's parent company collectively hold
2.10multiple licenses, the director must treat all such related licensees as a single eligible licensee.
2.11 Subd. 5.Eligible EMS responses.In order for an EMS response to be an eligible EMS
2.12response for purposes of subdivision 6, the EMS response must meet the following criteria:
2.13 (1) the EMS response was initiated by a request for emergency medical services initially
2.14received by a public safety answering point;
2.15 (2) an ambulance responded to the scene;
2.16 (3) the ambulance was not canceled while en route to the scene;
2.17 (4) the ambulance did not transport a person from the scene to a hospital emergency
2.18department;
2.19 (5) the eligible licensee did not receive any payment for the EMS response from any
2.20source; and
2.21 (6) the EMS response was initiated between January 1, 2025, and December 31, 2025.
2.22 Subd. 6.Calculations.(a) The director must calculate payments as provided in paragraphs
2.23(b) and (c) for an eligible licensee that completes an application under subdivision 4.
2.24 (b) The director must award points for eligible EMS responses as follows:
2.25 (1) for eligible EMS responses one to 25, an eligible licensee is awarded ten points per
2.26response;
2.27 (2) for eligible EMS responses 26 to 50, an eligible licensee is awarded five points per
2.28response;
2.29 (3) for eligible EMS responses 51 to 100, an eligible licensee is awarded three points
2.30per response;
2Section 1.
REVISOR AGW/LJ 25-0260702/05/25 3.1 (4) for eligible EMS responses 101 to 200, an eligible licensee is awarded one point per
3.2response; and
3.3 (5) for eligible EMS responses exceeding 200, an eligible licensee is awarded zero points.
3.4 (c) The director must total the number of all points awarded to all applying eligible
3.5licensees under paragraph (b) and divide that number by the amount appropriated for purposes
3.6of this section to determine a per-point amount. The payment for each eligible licensee shall
3.7be calculated by multiplying the eligible licensee's number of awarded points by the
3.8established per-point amount.
3.9 Subd. 7.Payment.The director must certify the payment amount for each eligible
3.10licensee and must make the full payment to each eligible licensee by May 30, 2026.
3.11 Sec. 2. APPROPRIATION; RURAL EMS UNCOMPENSA TED CARE POOL
3.12PAYMENT PROGRAM.
3.13 $3,000,000 in fiscal year 2026 is appropriated from the general fund to the Office of
3.14Emergency Medical Services for the rural EMS uncompensated care pool payment program.
3.15This is a onetime appropriation.
3Sec. 2.
REVISOR AGW/LJ 25-0260702/05/25