We can prevent Minnesota ambulance services from flatlining

When you call you expect help to arrive fast You expect trained professionals to show up with the equipment and expertise to save lives But that expectation is at pitfall across Minnesota especially in rural communities because our crisis health services EMS system is being pushed to the brink Between the two of us one leading the Minnesota Ambulance Association and the other directing Perham Area EMS we ve both seen up close just how strained ambulance services are across the state The time for action is now As lawmakers finalize the state budget in the final days of the legislative session they must prioritize sustainable EMS funding Without it lifesaving care will be at hazard in more communities across Minnesota In alone Minnesota s ambulance providers responded to more than emergencies That s hundreds of thousands of heart attacks strokes car accidents overdoses falls and anatomical crises These are not just numbers they re neighbors grandparents coworkers and children And when they need help EMS is there We are the front line of Minnesota s healthcare safety net responding regardless of weather distance or a case s ability to pay Yet despite the essential nature of our work ambulance services are crumbling under the weight of financial instability outdated funding models and a workforce problem The state s current Medicaid reimbursement rates don t even come close to covering the actual cost of providing ambulance carriage According to a statement patients on Medicaid and Medicare account for of all ambulance responses and services are routinely losing money on these calls No business or essential amenity can survive while operating at a loss Plenty of ambulance providers have already been forced to reduce shifts delay equipment purchases or make laborious staffing decisions In Greater Minnesota where long response distances and low call volumes are common particular services are on the verge of shutting down entirely The urgency one-time aid passed in helped keep the wheels turning temporarily but it s not a long-term resolution We re calling on legislators to do three critical things before session ends Increase Medicaid reimbursement rates for ambulance services so providers aren t forced to operate at a loss for every government-insured subject Secure ongoing sustainable funding for rural EMS particularly in areas where call volume can t cover the fixed costs of maintaining life-saving readiness Invest in workforce evolution including scholarship funding for paramedics earn-while-you-learn programs for EMTs and high school EMS training pathways to help build the pipeline of future professionals The explanation isn t complicated but it does require political will Ambulance services are essential infrastructure just like roads and bridges You can t cut corners when lives are on the line In Perham and in communities across Minnesota EMS professionals stretch every day to provide high-quality care even as their information shrink Our teams work long hours take on second jobs and miss family milestones because we believe in our mission But belief isn t enough We need the state to invest in EMS now or menace seeing more services disappear We are grateful to legislators from both parties who have stepped forward to champion this issue They know that when EMS fails the consequences are measured in lives Minnesota has long been a national leader in healthcare innovation and access Let s not allow our EMS system to become the exception Let s not wait until a call goes unanswered or an ambulance never arrives The cost of inaction is just too high As lawmakers hammer out the final details of the state budget they must answer one simple question When Minnesotans call for help will we be there We want to be But we need the Legislature to show up for EMS just as we show up for Minnesotans every day Michael Juntunen is president of the Minnesota Ambulance Association and serves as the Locality Paramedicine Coordinator at Mayo Clinic Ambulance Becca Huebsch is the director of Perham Area EMS where she leads a rural ambulance facility serving west-central Minnesota The post We can prevent Minnesota ambulance services from flatlining appeared first on MinnPost