MN HF696

Establishes a rural EMS uncompensated care pool payment program with a one-time appropriation of $3,000,000 in fiscal year 2026 to compensate ambulance services operating outside the Twin Cities metropolitan area

Eligible EMS responses must be 911-initiated calls where an ambulance responded but did not transport a patient to a hospital and received no payment from any source, occurring between January 1, 2025, and December 31, 2025

Uses a tiered point system favoring smaller providers: 10 points per response for first 25 calls, 5 points for calls 26-50, 3 points for calls 51-100, 1 point for calls 101-200, and zero points beyond 200 responses

Applications must be submitted by March 31, 2026, with payments to be made by May 30, 2026; related licensees under common ownership are treated as a single eligible licensee

Excludes specialized life support responses from payment calculations