EMS Region III Board of Directors Meeting
The next regularly scheduled EMS Region III Board of Directors meeting is slated for Friday, June 26th, 2009 at 1:30PM in Clovis, NM. The meeting will be held at the regional office, 2421 East 21st Street. The public is encouraged to attend. Click here to view Agenda.
New Statewide Ambulance Tariff Adopted
On June 2, 2009 the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission issued a Final Order adopting a new Statewide Ambulance Tariff based upon the Recommended Decision of the Hearing Examiner. Click here to view the Final Order for Case No. 08-00060-TR-R. This order is effective immediately. The current interim Statewide Ambulance rates, adopted on September 11, 2008 may be used until June 30, 2009. After June 30, 2009 you must adjust your rates to the new Statewide Ambulance Tariff.
If your ambulance service is currently utilizing the Statewide Ambulance Tariff, please note you will be automatically switched and must abide by these new rates. Your service will remain on the Statewide Tariff unless the Commission receives an application requesting a new tariff, at which time the Commission will hold a hearing for a tariff change.
Thank you for your attention to this matter. If you are in need of further information regarding a tariff change, please call Larry Lujan, NMPRC Rate Analyst at (505) 827-4505.
The 29th Annual Statewide EMS Conference
Presented by the New Mexico EMS Bureau
Pre-Conference - Monday, July 20th - Wednesday, July 22nd
Core Conference - Thursday, July 23rd - Saturday, July 25th
Hotel Albuquerque - Old Town, Albuquerque
Full details will be available soon at www.nmems.org.
FY09 EMS Fund Act Monies - Carryover Requests
June 09, 2009
Ref: Carry over requests of FY 2009 Fund Act Monies
Dear EMS Services,
We are approaching the time of year during which the EMS Bureau receives carry-over requests for unspent Fund Act money. In the past, the EMS Bureau has granted near automatic approval for these requests. This will no longer be the case.
The Fund Act Rule (7.27.4.11.O) allows budget adjustment requests to be made for several reasons:
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When money has been encumbered on an item or items, but not yet actually paid out.
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To pay for a large item that a single year’s allocation is not enough for which to cover the cost.
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To change the priorities of spending or change the items requested on the original Fund Act application (this is usually not a carry over request, but requested during the fiscal year when priorities change).
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To permit services to “carry over” funds from one fiscal year appropriation to the next fiscal year.
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Other “good cause” reasons for budget adjustment.
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All the recipients in a given county can request money to be re-distributed among the recipients to maximize effect of the Fund Act distribution. All the recipients must agree to the re-distribution plan.
Please keep in mind that these are approved reasons for a request…not necessarily reasons for approval. Most of the budget adjustment requests we receive are to carry over funds into the next fiscal year. Requests to the EMS Bureau for carry-over budget adjustments must be postmarked by October 31. If the amount in question is less than $250, no request is necessary.
The request for carry over must be made in writing in a letter on the letterhead of your EMS agency, municipality, or county. We will accept the letter via postal service or fax, or it may be attached to an email.
For your carry over request to have the best chance of approval, you will need to provide documents that show that:
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The money has been encumbered, but hasn’t been paid out for approved items, OR
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That you have a plan to pay for a portion of an item that was too expensive for a single year’s appropriation, OR
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Justification as to why the money wasn’t spent; Please note – running out of time to spend the money before the end of the fiscal year will not be considered as a valid justification.
Remember, per the Fund Act Regulation (7.27.11.O.2), “Each proposed budget adjustment shall be submitted in writing to the bureau and shall receive the bureau’s approval prior to expending or encumbering the reallocated funds”. Simply stated, if you do not submit a request to carry over an unspent amount of money, or do not wait for approval prior to encumbering or spending that money, that amount of money will be subject to repayment to the Department of Health.
Special Project funds (Local System Improvement, Statewide System Improvement, and Vehicle Purchase) are subject to similar rules, with an additional requirement of an expenditure report per 7.27.4.12-K; NMAC. Please note that Special Project funds will only receive approval to be carried over once, i.e., if your service received Special Project Funds for FY09, and you gain approval to carry these funds over to FY10, approval will not be granted a second time.
If you have any questions or concerns on the Fund Act, please contact me at the EMS Bureau. My email is
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, and my direct office line is 505-476-8233.
Best Regards,
Ann Martinez, FF-I / EMT-I
DOH/ERD/EMS Bureau
Fund Act Coordinator
Legislation Introduced to Sustain Ambulance Service in Rural Areas
WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) is taking steps to address a looming health care problem in Alabama: the threat of a severe drop in ambulance services to rural parts of the state in coming years.
Sessions, with Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Pat Roberts (R-KS), introduced bipartisan legislation in the Senate yesterday that would alter existing Medicare programs to better reflect the cost of operating ambulance services outside of urban centers. The legislation, S. 1066, would boost the Medicare reimbursement rate by six percent for ambulance trips originating in rural areas, and by 17 percent for ambulance services in extremely remote areas.
“Rural ambulance service providers may receive only a few calls a week, but they must be ready to go, 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” Sessions said. “It has been a priority of mine for a number of years to correct the unfair treatment of rural Alabama ambulance operators. I believe this will be a good step toward restoring the correct balance. This legislation would make adjustments to the reimbursement formula to account for the high cost of rural service. The men and women who provide these services are lifesavers, and we need to make sure they are able to assist those in need, regardless of the patient’s location.”
A May 2007 report by the Government Accountability Office found that “rural and super rural transports were longer than urban transports, on average, requiring more time and resources per transport. In 2004, urban Medicare transports averaged seven miles, while rural Medicare transports averaged 13 miles and medical transports from super rural areas averaged 20 miles.”
Currently, ambulance providers cover the upfront cost of transporting Medicare patients and are reimbursed under a formula that weighs the number of trips each provider makes more heavily than the length of each trip, disadvantaging rural providers.
In 2003, Medicare began providing a bonus payment to offset the higher cost of operating in rural areas. But, under current law, those payments are scheduled to cease at the end of the year, leading some industry experts to predict that many rural ambulance providers will be unable to sustain rural operations.
Such an outcome would result in a dramatic disruption of services in states like Alabama, where 35 percent of the 260,000 ambulance transports made each year are in rural areas.
Jim Finger, President of the American Ambulance Association, pointed to the legislation as an important step to insuring adequate rural service.
"Funding from the Medicare Ambulance Access Preservation Act would offset the temporary Medicare ambulance relief provisions, which are set to expire at the end of this year, and would address the chronic problem of below-cost reimbursement by Medicare of ambulance services,” Finger said. “Without this legislation, ambulance service providers, especially those which service the most rural areas, may be forced to scale back services, which could ultimately jeopardize access for all Americans to life-saving ambulance care and first responder services.”
Jon Howell, President of Alabama Association of Ambulance Services said, “Ambulance providers in Alabama have long needed relief from the high costs associated with providing quality care. Speaking on behalf of the Alabama Association of Ambulance Services, I am very pleased and excited that Senator Sessions has co-sponsored this important legislation.”
The funding adjustments included in Sessions’ legislation are in line with the recommendations of the GAO’s report, and would send an additional $80 million in aid to Alabama’s ambulance providers over the next 10 years.
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U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) serves on four committees – Armed Services, Judiciary, Energy and Natural Resources, and Budget. Visit his website at www.sessions.senate.gov. NOTE: Please do not reply to this email. For further information, please contact Senator Sessions’ press office at (202) 224-4124
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