Establishes the New York state rural ambulance services task force

Showing the cosponsors who are on Agora, A to Z. The official record may list more.

• Democratic1

Shown in neutral colors by design; Agora is non-partisan.

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why Michelle Hinchey says this is needed

Ambulance services represent the "first-mile" of emergency medicine response for all New Yorkers and can be the difference between life and death. In rural communities, those services are too often at severe financial risk compared to in more populated areas. High fixed costs against longer down times, as well as high public-payer mixes in poorer and aging rural areas, have made EMS financially unsustainable in too many upstate communities. To fully understand the functionality of rural ambulance services, and to generate legislative recommendations for policy changes, New York State in 2022 enacted a temporary rural ambulance services task force. That task force presented a final report with 38 proposals addressing four primary areas of concern: funding, staffing, standards, and systems. Several of those proposals have become legislative bills, including some ideas consistent with proposals enacted into law like treatment-in-place and alternate destination transport. To build on the important work of this task force, this bill would make it permanent and require submission of annual reports to the governor and the leaders of both houses of the Legislature. A permanent task force will be able to examine emerging trends and new issues in ambu- lance services, and would provide a longitudinal perspective on the evolution of rural ambulance services, payment system's, and sustaina- bility.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.