Title
Report regarding a resolution approving budget amendment BA-23.038 to the Fire Department FY 2022-23 Operating Budget in the amount of $436,964.50 and allow the City to participate in the California Assembly Bill 1705 (2019) Public Provider Ground Emergency Medical Transport Intergovernmental Transfer (PP-GEMT-IGT) Program. (Richard Walls, Emergency Medical Services Chief)
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RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Staff recommends that City Council adopt a resolution authorizing budget amendment BA23.038 to the FY 2022-23 budget in the amount of $436,964.50 and allow the City to participate in the California Assembly Bill 1705 (2019) and the Public Provider Ground Emergency Medical Transport Intergovernmental Transfer (PP-GEMT-IGT) Program.
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BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION
For most of the 21st Century, special interest groups in California have been promoting legislation that would create payment reform as it relates to ambulance transportation. The 2011 passage of Assembly Bill 678 (AB678) led to the Ground Emergency Medical Transport (GEMT) program, a source of revenue that has provided the City approximately $2,326,000 in additional funds to cover specific transportation costs since its inception. Essentially, the GEMT program is limited to public entities and the purpose is to evaluate costs associated with providing care and transportation to a specific type of Medicaid patient and provide a federal subsidy to reduce the impact of the service to the local government's general funds.
To participate in GEMT, an agency must be a public entity and complete a comprehensive annual cost report. This annual cost report is filed with the California Department of Healthcare Services (DHCS). DHCS evaluates the cost report from each participating agency and creates an average transport cost for California Medicaid patients. Through AB 678, the State developed a Supplemental Reimbursement Program pursuant to California Welfare and Institutions Code Section 14105.94 ...
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