From mental health to money, the Wisconsin EMS Association and local first responders are praising a package of bills that will address PTSD among the ranks and Medicaid reimbursement for uncompensated costs. The bipartisan proposals were approved unanimously by the state senate.
When the alarms sound, first responders answer the call. And now, the State of Wisconsin wants to make sure those EMS departments are being compensated for each call whether the patient has private insurance or something like Medicare.
“Say we bill $3 million, we collect about half of that, we deal with a lot of Medicare patients, and so there’s limits on how much Medicare will reimburse us,” says Fond du Lac Fire/Rescue Chief Peter O’Leary.