Abstract

Emergency Medical Services (EMS) has been a misfit member of public safety and healthcare within the United States since the 1970s. As EMS has progressed into its modern form, policies haven’t caught up, particularly concerning funding. Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement no longer reflect the reality of modern EMS systems. The need to transport a patient to an emergency department to recoup service costs perpetuates an already costly healthcare system (Munjal & Carr, 2013). To offset the loss encumbered by EMS agencies across New York State (NYS), local governments can provide much needed funding. Funding of this nature has also been identified as a way to fund community health services around the US. A notable example is Austin-Travis County; paramedics within this county can serve as case managers for patients misusing EMS for non-emergencies. This system can’t bill any of its services to government insurance agencies, even when these paramedics assist patients with Medicaid enrollment. (Olmstead, 2015) This study aims to gain insight into the level of support municipalities give to their EMS systems. Its additional goal was to characterize the communities providing funding and understand why they provide greater funding than others. Utilizing data from the US Census and the NYS Comptroller, the demographic differences between municipalities were explored concerning their EMS-related expenditures. It was concluded that older communities were predominantly responsible for EMS funding across the state. This finding aligns with these populations' expected higher use of EMS but opens discussion on what gains the communities see from more sustainable care modalities. However, much is still left to question why a large part of the state leaves EMS funding up to traditional sources and, subsequently, how this impacts EMS sustainability in NYS.

Publication Date

8-2024

Document Type

Thesis

Student Type

Graduate

Degree Name

Science, Technology and Public Policy (MS)

Department, Program, or Center

Public Policy, Department of

College

College of Liberal Arts

Advisor

Eric Hittinger

Advisor/Committee Member

Eunju Kang

Advisor/Committee Member

Heather Allen

Campus

RIT – Main Campus

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