Legislative Program Review and
Investigations Committee
Keypoints
Findings and
Recommendations
December 10, 1999
Regulation of Emergency Medical Services:
Phase Two
Keypoints
- Ambulance calls are considered a reimbursable health care
expense; third party payers, including government, already
determine rates they will pay for ambulance service
- Setting of rates by the health department has not had a
great impact on keeping overall EMS costs down; between 1994
and 1998 they rose at double the rate of increases in the
consumer price index for health care and transportation
- There is an incentive for providers to ask for rate
increases if they have to file detailed financial information
annually
- Medicaid reimbursement is currently $99.25 for basic life
support (BLS); it has not been increased in more than 10 years,
and is significantly lower than the Medicare rate for BLS
- Standards used by DPH to make decisions on the need for
ambulances are unclear and the process is cumbersome and time
consuming
- Evaluation of what number of vehicles are needed is mostly
based on a prospective estimation of what service needs will be
or a demonstration of poor or inadequate service
- Traditional government cost containment functions are
increasingly being replaced by managed care organizations
- Since 1975, the statutes have required an EMS data system
be put in place; 25 years later there is still no data
collection system
- Lack of consensus within EMS community appears to have
stymied system implementation
- Emergency medical dispatch (EMD) is a proven technique used
to save lives and promote optimal allocation of limited EMS
resources
- EMD serves as an important link in the chain of survival
for those needing emergency medical assistance
- EMD is not currently available to all Connecticut residents
– only about half of the state’s 9-1-1
communications centers provide or have access to EMD
- DPH is not in compliance with certain legal requirements
and has not discharged its administrative and oversight duties
in an appropriate manner
Return to Year 1999 Studies