Wis. governor allocates $27M+ to help state EMS agencies

By Leila Merrill

MADISON, Wis. — Gov. Tony Evers announced a $27.4 million plan to bolster Wisconsin EMS agencies Tuesday in his State of the State Address.

In a Facebook post, Executive Director of the Wisconsin EMS Association Alan DeYoung said the funds will "go a long way to help EMS deal with the major challenges we are facing."

"This announcement and investment will be a tremendous help for EMS in Wisconsin, especially our rural and smaller services,” said DeYoung.

According to the Wisconsin EMS Association, here’s an outline of the funding specifics.

• $8 million will supplement the EMS Funding Assistance Program. The funds will come from the American Rescue Plan Act. With the additional money, FAP will have $10.2 million for Fiscal Year 2023.
• $12 million will be available as one-time flexible grants. These funds also are from ARPA. According to the association, this is an “opportunity prioritizing small, under-resourced EMS providers who do not qualify for the EMS Funding Assistance Program (FAP) and creating opportunities for Municipal/Non-Profit/Private EMS services to apply for a one-time flexible grant. The intent is to design the program to be flexible and allow EMS providers to use funds for staff, equipment, supplies, or other expenses.”
• $74 million will go to a Medicaid rate increase.

The association stated:
“The Wisconsin Medicaid program reimburses private and municipal ambulance providers for emergency medical transportation. Despite recent rate increases, Medicaid rates are still below Medicare and commercial rates, contributing to an erosion of EMS provider stability as they also experience increased staffing and operating costs amid a global pandemic.

This is in addition to the Jan. 1, 2022, rate increase that was included in the 2021-23 budget that provided nearly $5.6 million in 2021-22 and more than $11.1 million in 2022-23 to increase Medicaid reimbursement rates for selected ambulance services to 80% of the 2021 Medicare urban rates applicable in Wisconsin.”