A bill for an act
relating to health; providing onetime aid to certain licensed ambulance services;
requiring reports; appropriating money.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
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(a) For purposes of this section, the definitions in Minnesota
Statutes, section 144E.001, apply and the terms in this subdivision have the meanings given.
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(b) "EMS responses" means the number of responses reported to the board by a licensee
via the Minnesota state ambulance reporting system during calendar year 2023.
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(c) "Response density" means the quotient of a licensee's EMS responses divided by the
square mileage of the licensee's primary service area.
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The board shall exclude EMS responses by specialized life
support as described under Minnesota Statutes, section 144E.101, subdivision 9, when
calculating EMS responses, response density, or aid payments under this section.
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When a licensee, a licensee's parent company, a subsidiary
of the licensee, or a subsidiary of the licensee's parent company collectively hold one or
more licenses, the board must treat all such related licensees as a single licensee and the
sum of the square mileages of the primary service areas as a single primary service area for
the purposes of calculating EMS responses, response density, and aid payments under this
section.
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(a) Only licensees with a response
density of 30 responses per square mile or fewer are eligible for aid payments under this
section.
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(b) An eligible licensee may apply to the board, in the form and manner determined by
the board, for aid payments under this section.
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(a) Prior to determining an aid payment amount for eligible
applicants, the board must make the calculations in paragraphs (b) to (d).
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(b) For each eligible applicant, the board shall determine the amount equal to dividing
20 percent of the amount appropriated for aid payments under this section equally among
all eligible applicants.
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(c) For each eligible applicant, the board shall determine the amount equal to dividing
40 percent of the amount appropriated for aid payments under this section by each eligible
applicant's share of the total square mileage of all eligible applicants' primary service areas.
For the purposes of both calculating the total square mileage of the primary service areas
of all eligible applicants and for calculating each eligible applicant's share of the total, the
square mileage of each eligible applicant's primary service area is capped at 1,200 square
miles.
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(d) For each eligible applicant, the board shall determine the amount equal to dividing
40 percent of the amount appropriated for aid payments under this section by each eligible
applicant's share of the total EMS response points awarded according to clauses (1) to (4):
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(1) for EMS response 1 to EMS response 500, a licensee is awarded ten points for each
EMS response;
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(2) for EMS response 501 to EMS response 1,500, a licensee is awarded five points for
each EMS response;
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(3) for EMS response 1,501 to EMS response 2,500, a licensee is awarded zero points
for each EMS response; and
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(4) for EMS response 2,501 and each subsequent EMS response, a licensee's points are
reduced by two points for each EMS response, except a licensee's total awarded points must
not be reduced below zero.
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The board must make an aid payment to an eligible applicant in
the amount equal to the sum of the amounts calculated in subdivision 5, paragraphs (b) to
(d).
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A recipient of an aid payment under this section must spend the
money only on expenses incurred in the provision of licensed ambulance services within
the recipient's primary service area or areas. A recipient of an aid payment under this section
must spend the entire amount by December 31, 2027, or return to the board by March 1,
2028, any amount not spent by December 31, 2027.
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The executive director of the board must certify the aid payment
amount for each eligible applicant and must make the full aid payment by December 31,
2024.
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By December 31, 2025, and by December 31 of each of the following
two years, recipients of aid payments under this section must submit to the board a report
summarizing how the recipient used the revenue from the aid payments. Beginning March
31, 2026, and by March 31 of each of the following two years, the board must submit to
the chairs and ranking minority members of the legislative committees with jurisdiction
over the board a report summarizing how the aid payments were utilized by aid recipients.
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$120,000,000 in fiscal year 2025 is appropriated from the
general fund to the Emergency Medical Services Regulatory Board for aid payments to
eligible applicants under this section. This is a onetime appropriation and is available until
June 30, 2028.
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