Lake County EMS Director Randy Strohmeyer Brought Idea to Senator Hauschild
(ST. PAUL, Minn.) – In a hearing of the Senate Taxes Committee Tuesday, Senator Grant Hauschild (DFL-Hermantown) presented legislation that will lower costs for rural ambulance services, the culmination of an idea first brought to him by constituent Randy Strohmeyer, Executive Director of Lake County Ambulance Service.
The proposal exempts certain rural ambulance services from paying the Minnesota Health Care Provider Tax, reducing the financial burdens on small ambulance services that provide care in rural areas.
“Our rural emergency medical services are facing unique challenges, but they’re also doing their part to help policy makers in St. Paul come up with solutions,” said Sen. Hauschild. “This may have a small fiscal impact for the state, but it can make a big difference for smaller rural ambulance services. No one understands that better than someone like Randy Strohmeyer, and I want to thank him for reaching out to me and making this legislation possible.”
In Tuesday’s hearing, Strohmeyer testified in support of SF 2765, telling committee members that an exemption from the provider tax to save time, resources, and money for small ambulance services like his would outweigh any benefits the state gets from paying the tax.
“We can reinvest this money through the lifesaving care that we’re providing like in medications, equipment, and our personnel,” said Strohmeyer. “We’re trying to partner with the state, and we’re just asking for a little bit of help so we can provide this service to our communities.”
The exemption would extend to ambulance services that have a base of operations located outside the metropolitan counties and outside the cities of Duluth, Mankato, Moorhead, Rochester, and St. Cloud and whose gross revenues equal to or less than $10 million. According to one estimate, 34 ambulance providers would meet those criteria.
