This is one approach…
The referenced HB 1365 was enacted in April 2023 – wonder how many communities have acted to fund EMS under the law?
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North Dakota lawmakers consider bill to prevent abrupt ambulance service closures
By: Michael Achterling
January 8, 2025
https://northdakotamonitor.com/2025/01/08/north-dakota-lawmakers-consider-bill-to-prevent-abrupt-ambulance-service-closures/
A bill addressing distressed ambulance services aims to give North Dakota communities a safety net before EMS companies abruptly close.
Senate Bill 2033 would require ambulance services that are failing to meet state or federal regulations or are at risk of closing within 60 days to comply with a new program administered through the Department of Health and Human Services.
A survey sent to North Dakota ambulance service providers showed about 30 may close in the next five years, Adam Parker, chair of the advocacy committee for the North Dakota EMS Association, told the Senate Human Services Committee Wednesday.
“When an ambulance fails, that jeopardizes the community, as well as stresses the neighbors,” Parker said.
The program would lay out procedures for HHS to create an improvement plan with the struggling ambulance services and inform local medical directors and local subdivisions of the issues. It also creates a coordinator position under HHS to manage the program, expected to cost about $210,000 during the 2025-27 biennium and $218,000 in the 2027-29 budget.
The program would require both HHS and the ambulance provider to sign off on an improvement plan that would be presented to local residents before going into effect.
Rep. Robin Weisz, R-Hurdsfield, testified in favor of the bill.
“It’s a tool to make sure we don’t all of a sudden reach a crisis situation,” Weisz said.
He added he would advocate for additional funding for rural ambulance services, though the bill does not include that funding.
“For someone in a rural area, when I do something stupid, which I do occasionally … I want somebody to show up,” Weisz said. “I don’t want to sit there and wait for 30 minutes hoping somebody comes while I’m bleeding out, or whatever. And I want somebody who knows what they are doing.”
Committee members voted 5-1 to give the bill a “do pass” recommendation.
“There hasn’t been a process to require some communication and I think that’s sometimes just critical,” said Sen. Judy Lee, R-West Fargo, chair of the Senate Human Services Committee.
During the 2023 legislative session, House Bill 1365 created districts for rural ambulance services with an oversight board that would be in charge of crafting an EMS plan for its area and raising local taxes to cover the costs of the service. But, Parker said that bill didn’t address potential closures.
Parker said the goal of the new bill is to force a dialog between the provider and the state and to come up with a plan to leave reliable emergency services in place. If ambulance service providers fail to respond or participate in the new HHS program, the state could revoke its EMS license.
The sole member of the committee to vote against the bill, Sen. David Clemens, R-West Fargo, said he didn’t think the state should be involved in another program at HHS when the issue could be best resolved at the local level.
“If people are becoming concerned about their ambulance service then I think it’s their responsibility to go to their county, county commissioners, and say, ‘Look, we’ve got to have this fixed,’ and I think they are capable of fixing it,” Clemens said.
The bill will now move to the Senate Appropriations Committee to be considered as a part of the larger HHS budget.
