New York state legislature passes bills in support of EMS: How they will boost services
State Assemblymembers Donna Lupardo (D-Endwell) and Joe Angelino (R-Norwich) joined Broome County EMS Coordinator Dave Tinklepaugh at a press conference on July 2 to address the status of several bills meant to support EMS providers statewide.
Following the recently concluded legislative session, Lupardo announced three bills included in the "#RescueEMS" legislative package passed both houses of the state legislature.
The first bill, she said, removes expenditures for EMS from the limit on real property tax levies issued by local governments, allowing municipalities to fund EMS outside of the tax cap.
"Giving municipalities the option to invest more in EMS, without concern for the tax cap, will be a real game-changer for many," said Lupardo.
The second bill initially designated general ambulance services as an essential service, an issue that first arose in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. An amended version of the bill passed without that provision, but it does require every municipality to conduct "an exhaustive planning process" related to emergency medical system plans. The process will require counties, cities, towns and villages to work together to assess current service levels, identify existing service gaps, and estimate costs for providing such services.
The third and final bill that was passed this legislative session requires the Thruway Authority to issue emergency services permits to ambulance and fire vehicles, making them exempt from roadway tolls.
"EMS is something that we view as essential, that we view as an important part of the social safety net, something that constituents rely on," Lupardo said.
The legislative package awaits the signature of Gov. Kathy Hochul to become law.
Previously, the "Direct Pay Bill," which was co-sponsored by Lupardo, was passed in December 2023 to allow providers to be paid directly by insurance companies for transporting out-of-network patients.
In September 2024, two other bills were signed into law. The first requires Medicaid reimbursement for ambulance services when a patient is treated at the scene or when they are transported to a non-hospital healthcare setting. The second bill allowed EMS services to store and distribute blood and administer transfusions, allowing for a wider range of options for on-scene treatment.
Looking forward, one of the biggest items that Lupardo said she would like to see pass is an increase in the Medicaid reimbursement rate.
"Medicaid is under scrutiny right now and we're worried about cuts, but at the same time they are not getting paid what the service is costing them," she said. "That's our ultimate goal."
Another pressing issue, according to Angelino, has been the slow decline of access to EMS, especially in rural areas. There has been a decrease in volunteer EMS and, as commercial ambulances continue to provide services closer to cities, rural communities don't have the same access.
"If you just go up the road, 25 or 30 miles, it's very rural, very distant to the nearest hospital and commercial providers won't work out there," he said.
More: Tunnel to Towers Foundation pays off mortgage of fallen Binghamton firefighter JR Gaudet
With this new bill, Angelino said municipalities can now decide whether EMS is an essential service in their respective community. If they decide it is, they can exceed the 2% tax cap in order to enhance EMS coverage in rural areas.
Tinklepaugh said the Broome County dispatch center received 36,000 calls for EMS coverage in 2024. As of July 1, the dispatch center has received 18,000 calls in 2025.
"When we talk about the limitations within our system right now and why the legislation is so very important for us, for rescuing EMS, we're finding increased costs, we're finding stagnant insurance rates and we have less and less staff to be able to treat the communities that we serve with an increased call volume," he said. "That certainly is coming to a breaking point for us."
In some areas, Tinklepaugh said, there are delays up to 30 minutes for ambulance services that need to go from their own district to neighboring districts as part of a mutual aid plan.
Tinklepaugh said the end goal is making EMS an essential service, but the bills that were just passed are a step in the right direction.
"I'm hoping that the agencies can truly move this forward and we can continue to provide the coverage that we have and actually enhance it and make it so needs are met for our community," he said.
This article originally appeared on Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: New York state legislature passes bills supporting EMS providers
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