2007-2008 LEGISLATIVE & POLICY AGENDA HIGHLIGHTS
EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES TRAINING PROGRAM DEDICATED FUNDING
Continuation of HCRA Funding for EMS is imperative. The Healthcare Reform Act provides funding for EMS training, Regional EMS Councils, Regional Program Agencies, and the New York State Department of Health’s Bureau of EMS. It is critical to the maintenance and stability of community volunteer ambulance corps that funding be available for the training and re-certification of Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs), Certified First Responders (CFRs), and Advanced EMTs. Homeland Safety and Security begins with a local Emergency Medical Services System that is trained and staffed to be able to respond when needed.
UTILITY CHARGES
Provide that the New York Power Authority add volunteer ambulance & rescue squads to their list of customers. Provide that volunteer ambulance & rescue services be charged at no more than the residential rate for electric, telephone, and gas utility service. This would allow volunteer ambulance & rescue squads to obtain utilities at a discounted rate as compared to the high current rate schedule.
VOLUNTEER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION
Recruitment and retention of Volunteer Emergency Medical Services personnel is critical to the EMS System. Establish a NYS Volunteer Ambulance Recruitment and Retention Program. Such a program could include matching grants for promotional campaign drives, financial support for the Service Awards Program, a statewide recruitment campaign, real property tax exemptions and/or income tax credits, and tuition assistance for volunteer ambulance, fire and rescue squad members.
- COLLEGE TUITION ASSISTANCE – Continued support for the NYS Volunteer Recruitment Services’ Scholarship.
- REAL PROPERTY TAX ABATEMENT FOR VOLUNTEER EMERGENCY PROVIDERS – Continued support for a 10 percent real property tax abatement for volunteer emergency service providers.
- VOLUNTEER EMERGENCY SERVICE PERSONAL TAX CREDIT – Provide a personal income tax credit to active volunteer firefighters and Emergency Medical Services personnel.
LENGTH OF SERVICE AWARD PROGRAM (LOSAP)
To establish parity with volunteer firefighter service award programs and permit the volunteer ambulance LOSAP programs, with local approval, to have an entitlement age as low as fifty-five and to allow active individuals over the entitlement age to continue to accumulate points.
COVERAGE FOR NONJURISDICTIONAL RESPONSE
Establish a fund pool to provide coverage to police officers, firefighters and EMS workers, who, in an effort to assist at an emergency while off-duty or outside their area within the state, discharge their primary responsibilities under circumstances requiring their assistance and reasonably consistent with their primary responsibility. Assure that any such coverage does not singularly impact the workers’ compensation, VAWBL, or VFWBL experience rating and rates of the individual’s home service.
WORKER COMPENSATION/VAWBL
To seek a method to provide a credit or different rate base formulation for volunteer not-for-profit community ambulance services that use a combination of volunteer members and compensated staff. Hybrid volunteer/not-for-profit ambulance services (i.e., organizations that use a combination of volunteer members/compensated staff) pay into two funds with two different formulas to provide coverage for their volunteer members and paid staff. Workers’ Compensation is calculated based on payroll. VAWBL (Volunteer Ambulance Workers’ Benefit Law) is based on the number of vehicles. For moderate to larger size agencies with a significant number of both volunteer staff and paid staff, this can result in a disproportionate expense and could lead to loss of ability/interest in maintaining a volunteer component. This combined staffing methodology is becoming more common as services, particularly those with higher call volumes, work to provide consistent and timely daytime/weekday coverage to their communities.
AMBUANCE SUBSCRIPTION PROGRAM
To explore the possibility of allowing new ambulance subscription or membership programs in NY. Such a program could help provide a stable funding stream for many community volunteer ambulance corps. More frequently, to cover costs, community volunteer ambulance corps have begun using a variety of cost/revenue recovery and/or third-party billing programs. Subscription programs which exist in many states, provide that voluntary participating subscribers/members receive ambulance service at a discounted or non-fee basis. They also may allow donations made to be credited toward any fee or co-payment. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid permit the operation of such programs, but the NYS Insurance Department considers them a form of insurance and has not permitted the establishment of any new subscription programs in NY.
CELLULAR-PHONE-PRIORITY ACCESS
Insure access to cellular telephones by emergency service personnel during an emergency. Request the New York State Legislature to adopt a resolution requesting congressional action on this issue.
VOLUNTEER AMBULANCE SERVICE LICENSE PLATES
Reduce or eliminate the annual fee currently charged for VAS (Volunteer Ambulance Service) license plates for members of volunteer ambulance services and rescue squads. Similar to Volunteer Fire Plates, there should be a one-time fee with no or only a nominal annual fee upon renewal.
EMT INTERMEDIATE LEVELS OF CERTIFICATION
Insure that all levels of EMT certification issued by the New York State Department of Health are recognized in all regions of New York State. Some regions in New York State do not recognize EMT Intermediate or EMT Critical Care levels of certification. The Association seeks to insure that these Advanced Life Support levels potentially attainable by volunteer services are recognized and meaningfully incorporated in all regions of New York State.
STATE EMS OFFICE, STATE EMS COUNCIL, REGIONAL COUNCILS
The Association believes that the NYS EMS Office, NYS EMS Council and Regional Councils should emphasize the provision of technical and other assistance to volunteer squads. Priority areas for assistance include: member recruitment, squad management, and development of networking and cooperative agreements between neighboring squads.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
New York State Volunteer Ambulance and Rescue Association
c/o Michael H. Wilhelm, Chair, Legislative Committee
252-45 63rd Ave
Little Neck, NY 11362
(347) 739-6947
legislative@nysvara.org |
