The League of Wisconsin Municipalities and Wisconsin Towns Association are pleased Assembly Bill 874 was signed into law. This legislation, authored by Rep. Amy Loudenbeck and Sen. Mary Felzkowski, enables municipalities to recover a greater portion of the cost of emergency medical services (EMS) calls from the Medicaid program.
“This will be a great start towards helping Wisconsin’s EMS providers and local communities continue to provide this fundamental service,” said League of Wisconsin Municipalities Executive Director Jerry Deschane. “The process set up by AB 874 is not going to change EMS systems overnight, but it does begin the process for improving EMS infrastructure.”
Only a portion of each Medicaid EMS call is funded, which results in significant losses and negative impacts to local communities. The legislation sets up a process that local EMS systems will use to increase their Medicaid reimbursement. While not a cure-all, this bill being signed into law is a step in the right direction that will help local communities provide this fundamental local government service.
“There are many challenges facing Wisconsin’s EMS infrastructure ranging from lack of volunteers to deficient funding,” said Wisconsin Towns Association Executive Director Mike Koles. “We applaud the governor signing this bill into law and our legislative champions for advocating for AB 874, which will help make funding headway. ”
