Tax Impact Estimator
We Need Your Help!
Quick Fact sheets on the rural ambulance tax district.
*Remember that the absentee ballots are coming in the mail soon. If you vote by mail, make sure to send in BOTH the ballots this year, ours is separate.
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How Could the Cost-Data Collection from CMS Help?After completion of the CMS Cost-Data-Collection, ambulance services may be able to take into considerations: · CMS may consider adjusting rural ambulance payments to cover reasonable ambulance standby and fixed costs. · CMS may consider adjusting the Ambulance Fee Schedule to reflect EMS as true healthcare providers and increase base payments. · CMS may also consider continuing ambulance add-on payments beyond 2024 until the study is completed and CMS is able to reflect reasonably on the newly collected data.
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What is a Rural Ambulance Tax District?The Rural Ambulance Tax District is made up of the service area for which Lake Region is the Primary Emergency Services Provider for. In this region, we are asking the citizens to help maintain readiness of their emergency services by paying a yearly specified mill levy on their property tax. We know that increasing taxes is the last thing anyone wants to do, but emergency medical services are extremely important for the safety and health of our community.
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Why do we need an ambulance tax district now?Key Findings of Lake Region Ambulance Service, with fundamental components of the rural EMS systems, are challenged by the following issues: · Insufficient Payment by insurers to cover standby and fixed costs associated with EMS services · Prolonged response times, with increased distances to hospitals · a changing workforce that has historically relied on volunteers but increasingly must include paid personnel, many times paid staff is supplied from out of area employees · Insufficient State and Federal Policies · Lack of coordinated services within the EMS services in North Dakota · Lack of funding from area government agencies through donations, compensation, or taxations
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How will the mill levy work?To ensure that your ambulance service stays open, the ambulance will work directly with Ramsey County Commisioners. This next year, we will ask for 8 mils from the possible 15 mills a lowed. Each year, those mills are evaluated by the board of directors and the County Commissioners, and they will determine how many mills the ambulance receives to maintain operations. If reimbursements for services improve, the amount of mi ls will go down. We are only seeking what is required to keep our ambulance service running and efficient.
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What is the Cost-Data Collection?The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) along with the Center for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) began collecting data in 2020. The collect, cost, revenue, utilization, or referred simply as the cost-data-collection, collecting information pertaining to EMS services from January 1, 2020, through 2024, EMS may find that the associated costs may start being covered and the reimbursement rates may increase. Which will ultimately mean more income for ambulance services and will lessen the amount of taxes that citizens will need to pay if the tax district is formed. The Cost-Data Collection was delayed because of COVID-19, and we are still 2 years away from completion.
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When and Where to Vote?Voting will take place at the Memorial Building on Tuesday, June 11th from 8am till 7pm. For those that are mailing in their ballots, remember to mail both ballots in, as they are 2 separate ballots. We appreciate your support and would love to have your support.
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Is Lake Region Ambulance directly addressing any challenges?· Consider EMS in the state of North Dakota as Essential Services. (Only eleven (11) states in the union consider EMS to be essential services) · Increase ambulance fee-for-service payments that would adequately cover standby and fixed costs. · Collect data on other rural EMS services of similar sizes to better understand EMS workforce needs. * Due to demographic and economic factors, the potential rural ambulance crew workforce pool is shrinking. The rural population is both declining and aging. The commuting distance traveled for employed rural workers (residing in noncore, not adjacent counties) increased 25 percent from 2007 to 2016, compounding the potential ambulance crew workforce reduction. Lake Region Ambulance currently has 75% of our workforce commute here to work. · Federal and State funding is extremely low, for example, in 2002 and 2003, EMS providers received only 4 percent of the $3.38 billion allocated by the Department of Homeland Security to enhance emergency preparedness. · Unbilled costs and unpaid debt are higher for ambulance agencies than for all other health care providers. In 2016, it was reported that 43 percent of EMS charges were considered private pay (or out-of-pocket) – over 4 times higher than the national out-of-pocket health care expenditure rate. Unpaid debt is largely “written off” and considered to be unrecoverable.
WHO WE ARE
Founded in the late 1960's, Lake Region Ambulance Service began as a Basic Life Transport Service to now an Advanced Life Support Ambulance Service consisting of EMT's, AEMT's, and Paramedics. Here at Lake Region Ambulance Service, we strive to provide the Community of the Lake Region dedicated, compassionate emergency services in a professional manner. We are a diverse workforce that provides dedicated emergency services through proactive and innovative training, education, and community involvement.
WHAT WE DO
Lake Region Ambulance Service provides 24 hour Advanced Life Support care (ALS). These services are provided with a team of 9 full-time and part-time paramedics and 15 full and part-time Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs). Our medical teams have extensive training in patient assessment, treatment, cardiology, emergency medications, intravenous fluid administration, pediatric emergency, advanced airway management, and all aspects of care and management of a prehospital medical or trauma emergency.
EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES
We will continually strive for performance that surpasses all expectations for the benefit of our patients and community. We will remain skilled, knowledgeable, and ready to serve in any emergency. We believe training and education are the foundation of professionalism. We believe in positive leadership with vision towards the future. We will mentor and empower ethical leaders throughout the Organization. We will conduct ourselves as leaders in the community.
BILLING DEPARTMENT
At Lake Region Ambulance Service, we have a dedicated and Knowledgeable Billing Department Staff that is here to assist you and lend you support.
EDUCATION
To better help serve the community of the Lake Region, we have several instructors at our service. We provide quality education in CPR, First Aid, Blood Borne Pathogens, Emergency Medical Responder, and Emergency Medical Technician classes to name a few. We also provide continuing education for surrounding EMS agencies.
“Everything that is done in the world is done by hope”
Martin Luther
CONTACT LAKE REGION AMBULANCE SERVICE
804 5th St SE, P.O. Box 893, Devils Lake, ND 58301, USA
(701) 662-8832
(701) 662-7385
ANNUAL MEMBERSHIPS
Lake Region Ambulance service offers an Annual Membership Benefit for people of the Lake Region. If the member has insurance and the insurance company has paid its portion of the bill, the remaining balance for that call will be written off. If a member has no medical insurance, a 50% discount will be applied to the original balance. Membership benefits only apply to emergency calls that have been determined to be medical necessity by the insurance company/medical director and that are transported to CHI St. Alexius health Hospital. membership credit does not apply to transfers to other facilities.
The membership plan is for One Calendar year on 03/01 and is not pro-rated based on when you join. You cannot be covered by becoming a member "after the fact" for that particular event and any and all fees are not refundable if you move out of our service area, or decide to cancel your subscription.