Governor Evers Announces $30 Million Investment in State's Emergency Medical Services

Thursday, February 17th, 2022 -- 8:01 AM

During his 2022 State of the State address, Gov. Tony Evers announced a plan to support and stabilize Wisconsin’s emergency medical services system across the state with a nearly $30 million investment.

The governor’s plan includes efforts to supplement the Funding Assistance Program, which provides annual grants to all public ambulance service providers, including volunteer fire departments, nonprofits, and counties and municipalities, create a new grant program to help those providers who are not eligible for FAP, and fund a 16 percent reimbursement rate increase for private and municipal ambulance providers for emergency medical transportation.

For a decade, local governments have been asked to do more with less. Since 2011, state aid to communities has gone down even as costs have gone up. Help from the state was cut by more than nine percent while public safety costs have increased more than 16 percent.

Between these rising costs and lack of available staffing, some have even gone without ambulance services, left with no other option but to hope and rely upon neighboring providers.

Under the governor’s plan, every emergency medical service and emergency medical response provider will qualify for funding. Provided through the state’s federal American Rescue Plan Act funding, $20 million will go to EMS providers across the state for whatever help they need the most, whether it’s increasing staffing support, more training for first responders, or purchasing an ambulance, medical equipment, or supplies.

Of that $20 million, $8 million will go to FAP. This investment will bring the total funding available to those eligible providers to $10.2 million for fiscal year 2023.

The remaining $12 million of this investment will be provided as one-time, flexible grants, prioritizing small, under-resourced EMS providers who do not qualify for FAP to use for whatever they need, including staffing, equipment, supplies, or other expenses.

Additionally, the Wisconsin Medicaid program reimburses private and municipal ambulance providers for emergency medical transportation, and the governor’s 2021-23 biennial budget included a rate increase that went into effect on Jan. 1, 2022. Despite the recent rate increase, Medicaid rates are still below Medicare and commercial rates, contributing to an erosion of EMS provider stability.

In light of this, and in addition to the $20 million investment, Gov. Evers announced a plan to use $7.4 million all funds to implement an additional 16 percent rate increase for emergency transportation providers.

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