Great Article in JEMS about OKAMA members - EMSA

Posted over 1 year ago

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Oklahomans who need an ambulance and live in the Tulsa or Oklahoma City metro areas can consider themselves fortunate. They have access to one of the best emergency medical services programs in the country, one that's an example of outstanding public-private sector collaboration. The Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA) was established in Tulsa in 1977 as a public trust authority and later expanded to include Bixby, Jenks and Sand Springs. In 1990, service was again expanded to include the Oklahoma City metro area. The state's two biggest municipalities are the primary beneficiaries, but the program also serves 16 separate towns in the two metro areas. Foresight by EMSA officials and leaders in both Oklahoma City and Tulsa has also put the program on a solid financial footing, one that's rare in the United States. Escalating costs and cutbacks in Medicare/Medicaid reimbursements have forced many private ambulance companies across the U.S. to close, including 40 companies in Oklahoma since 2000. Oklahoma's EMSA program, however, has become a model for the rest of the nation, and is ranked as one of the top five in the country. It's also the only such partnership of its kind in the state. To achieve financial stability, EMSA adheres to a public utility model, which allows a quasi-government sector organization to contract with private sector medical service providers and dispatchers. Since 1998, Oklahoma has contracted with the firm Paramedics Plus LLC. This marriage of public sector oversight and private sector performance is supervised by authority personnel, an appointed 11-member EMSA Board of Trustees, and an independent medical director. Any changes to the EMSA Trust Agreement, which governs operations, must also be approved by the city governments of Tulsa and Oklahoma City. In a time when the market rate for ambulance transport is about $1,100 to $1,200 per ride, a third of all riders have no health insurance, and the federal government is cutting reimbursements, EMSA is offsetting the cost through a nominal charge on all metro area utility bills. Residents who participate in the program can then obtain EMSA services as needed, at no additional charge. This initiative can literally mean life or death for many Oklahomans who would otherwise hesitate to call an ambulance because of the associated fee. EMSA serves more than 1.1 million residents in central and northeast Oklahoma, averaging more than 110,000 calls for help each year. More than 70,000 of these callers are transported to area hospitals.