AUGUSTA, Maine — Maine's emergency medical services are in a "fragile" state, according to a commission examining the state's EMS system.
The Blue Ribbon Commission met with the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee on Monday to discuss recommendations from its latest report. Aside from restructuring the system, the commission chairs, Senator Chip Curry, D-Belfast, and Maine House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross, are urging lawmakers to distribute funds to agencies that need it most.
Reimbursement rates to EMS providers are not keeping pace with the cost of providing services, leaving a large $70 million gap, according to Senator Curry. The commission recommends allocating $70 million per year for the next five years to bridge the gap, supporting EMS agencies across the state.
Last year, the Legislature allocated $31 million to sustainability and stabilization funds to help agencies "most at risk of folding." Senator Curry said agencies are currently applying to get a piece of the $12 million stabilization fund, but it may take more than a year to distribute $19 million in the sustainability fund.
"None of the money, bottom line, has gone out to save emergency medical services that's in a crisis," Speaker Talbot Ross said.
Senator Curry said those funds are intended to support EMS providers most at risk of going under and it's concerning to estimate the sustainability fund will take a year to distribute.
"There's a real risk to EMS providers, and now is the time they need the funding and they need more resources that is just a little bit to keep them going," Senator Curry said. "That is our real struggle."
Click here for the Blue Ribbon Commission's latest report for more information.