State ambulance services will receive an additional 10 percent in reimbursement from the Department of Health and Human Resources starting immediately and retroactively to July 1.
The increase is set to give more than 200 ambulance providers nearly $12 million in additional reimbursements each fiscal year.
The increase comes from a request Gov. Jim Justice made to DHHR Cabinet Secretary Bill Crouch last June. Crouch said these funds are important because a large amount of the state’s ambulance services operate in rural areas with limited healthcare options.
“We really support those folks and what they do, they’re some of our local heroes throughout the state,” Crouch said during Justice’s COVID-19 briefing Wednesday.
The new rate matches Medicare, which is the maximum amount allowed by law.
The rate increase is part of a plan to overcome a shortage of EMTs and paramedics. West Virginia lost more than 1,900 responders over three years, or one-third of its workforce.
Justice previously announced $10 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds for EMS agency relief, and part of those funds went towards providing five mobile certification ambulances providing free training to prospective EMTs and paramedics.