Jenalyn L. Brock
EMC/330
March 19, 2013
Robert E. Wynne
Funding for Emergency Operations Government funding for emergency medical services (EMS) operations and training comes from many different resources. Government also oversees contract options for funding Medicaid, Medicare, insurance, and private providers. The Taylor Ambulance Company in the University of Phoenix scenario has its own contract with the City of Kelsey. This contract should meet some meet some general contract principles. Emergency managers need to understand the effect that legislation has on funding and operations.
Government Options for Funding EMS operations and training receive funding from the public and fee-for-service reimbursement (Brennan, 2006, p.93). How an EMS organization is configured determines how the EMS services are funded. Traditionally, private EMS providers rely on fee-for-service funding, while public service providers rely on public funding. According to Brennan (2006), both providers are billing for services and private EMS companies are more and more dependent on public funding. In 1966, the National Highway Safety Act created a grant program that provided funding for equipment and personnel. In order to receive money for grants, EMS organizations have to write grant proposals to the government. In the grant proposals, managers have to explain exactly how the funds will be used, who will benefit from the funds, and prove that they will not abuse the funds (FEMA, 2012). Local organizations also see revenue from funding alternatives such as taxes, user fees, fines, forfeitures, citations, enterprise funds, utility rates, sales of organizational assets, benefit assessments, and borrowing revenue (FEMA, 2012). These funding alternatives are acquired through government processes. In 1973, Congress passed the Emergency Medical Systems Act that provided further guidance and funding for EMS systems (Brennan, 2006,
References: Brennan, J.A. (2006). Principles of EMS systems. (3rd ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Mercer. (2013). Rapid City Journal. Senate blocks changes to ambulance service payments.