St. Paul, MN - This week, the Minnesota House and Senate are bringing forward a handful of bills for public hearings in the Health and Human Services committees. These are the culmination of the 2023 and early 2024 statewide field hearings and work of the Legislative Task Force on Emergency Medical Services.
“I want to sincerely thank my fellow members of the Emergency Medical Services Task Force for their hard work and input,” said Senator Judy Seeberger (DFL-Afton). “Last year during our task force field hearings, communities across our state emphasized the need for decisive action regarding Minnesota’s emergency medical services. I am encouraged by the bipartisan support for our various solutions, and I look forward to seeing them move through the legislative process.”
Today, the House Health Finance and Policy Committee discussed legislation authored by both co-chairs, Rep. John Huot (DFL-Rosemount) and Sen. Seeberger, that would create a new office of emergency medical services as a state agency in Minnesota.
In 2022, the Office of the Legislative Auditor (OLA) released an evaluation report regarding emergency ambulance services showing insufficient oversight, outdated service areas, persistent sustainability challenges, and ineffective Emergency Medical Services Regulatory Board (EMSRB) leadership.
“The OLA reports have demonstrated there are chronic problems with the structure currently in place,” said Rep. Huot. “Minnesotans deserve a state agency dedicated to Emergency Medical Services; it’s a public service we all rely on in our greatest time of crisis or emergency. We need to work to strengthen it for everyone.”
HF 4738 advanced out of the committee on a vote of 10-6 to the State and Local Government Finance committee. The Senate version is in the process of being scheduled for a future committee hearing.
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