1.1 A bill for an act
1.2 relating to health; modifying
reimbursement requirements for ambulance attendant
1.3 education costs;
appropriating money;amending Minnesota Statutes 2024, section
1.4 144E.35.
1.5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE
LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
1.6 Section 1. Minnesota Statutes
2024, section 144E.35, is amended to read:
1.7 144E.35 REIMBURSEMENT TO
AMBULANCE SERVICES FOR VOLUNTEER
1.8 EDUCATION COSTS.
1.9 Subdivision
1.Repayment for volunteer Reimbursement for education
costs;
1.10 ambulance service
eligibility. A licensed ambulance service shall be reimbursed by the
1.11 director for the
necessary expense of the initial education of a volunteer ambulance attendant
1.12 upon successful completion
by the attendant of an EMT education course, or a continuing
1.13 education course for EMT
care, or both, which has been approved by the director, pursuant
1.14 to section 144E.285
(a) Except as provided in subdivision 3, the director must reimburse
1.15 all eligible Minnesota
licensed ambulance services that apply for reimbursement under this
1.16 section for the
necessary expenses of initial EMR and EMT education and EMR and EMT
1.17 continuing education for
ambulance attendants who satisfy the criteria in subdivision 2.
1.18 Reimbursement may include
tuition, transportation, food, lodging, hourly payment for the
1.19 time spent in the education
course, and other necessary expenditures, except that in no
1.20 instance shall a volunteer
licensed ambulance attendant service be reimbursed more than
1.21 $900:
1.22 (1) $1,200 for an
ambulance attendant's successful completion of an initial EMT education
1.23 course, and $375;
2.1 (2) $400 for an
ambulance attendant's successful completion of a an EMT
continuing
2.2 education course;
2.3 (3) $600 for an
ambulance attendant's successful completion of an initial EMR education
2.4 course; and
2.5 (4) $200 for an
ambulance attendant's successful completion of an EMR continuing
2.6 education course.
2.7 (b) To be eligible for
reimbursement, a licensed ambulance service must have responded
2.8 to 5,000 or fewer
calls in the most recent calendar year.
2.9 Subd. 2.Reimbursement
provisions Ambulance attendant criteria. Reimbursement
2.10 must be paid under provisions
of this section when documentation is provided to the director
2.11 that the individualambulance
attendant:
2.12 (1) successfully
completed an initial EMR or EMT education course approved by the
2.13 director under section
144E.285, a continuing education course for EMR or EMT care
2.14 approved by the director
under section 144E.285, or both; and
2.15 (2) has served for
one year from the date of the final certification exam as an active
2.16 member of a Minnesota licensed
ambulance service.
2.17 Subd. 3.Discontinuance
of reimbursement. If the state is unable to meet its financial
2.18 obligations under
subdivision 1 as the obligations become due, the director must take all
2.19 necessary steps to
discontinue reimbursing ambulance services for education costs until the
2.20 state is again able to
meet the financial obligations under subdivision 1 as the obligations
2.21 become due. An ambulance
service whose application is not approved due to lack of funding
2.22 may resubmit the
application in the next fiscal year.
2.23 Sec. 2. APPROPRIATIONS.
2.24 $100,000 in fiscal year 2026 and $100,000 in fiscal year 2027
are appropriated from the
2.25 general fund to the
Office of Emergency Medical Services for purposes of Minnesota
2.26 Statutes, section
144E.35.
