Course Funding
| Bureau of EMS Policy Statement | |
|---|---|
| Policy Statement # | 02-10 |
| Date | 09/12/02 |
| Subject | Re: Course Funding |
| Supercedes/Updates | 95-02 & 95-05 &98-07 & 99-05 & 00-05 |
Purpose
This policy statement addresses emergency medical services (EMS) course reimbursement and replaces policies 95-02, 95-05, 98-07, 99-05 and 00-05. This policy is effective for approved EMS certification courses beginning on or after August 1, 2002.
key changes
- Practical skill examination rates have been increased for all certification levels.
- The Rapid Recertification administrative fee has been reduced but the practical skill rates have been increased.
- The EMT-B Original course reimbursement has increased to $700.00 from $600.00. The EMT-B Refresher course reimbursement has decreased to $335.00 from $415.00. The Paramedic Original course reimbursement rate has increased to $1,500.00 from $1,200.00.
- Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) funding has been eliminated as training has been incorporated into all appropriate curricula.
- EMS Course Sponsors must maintain financial records documenting the use of EMS tuition reimbursement funds.
- The reimbursement policy limits reimbursement for student's tuition costs to no more than two courses within a 12-month period. No more than one of the two reimbursable courses can be an Advanced EMT original certification course.
- A section on "Financial Penalties" has been added.
Student Eligibility
1. Basic Life Support (BLS) Course reimbursement may only be requested and received for the tuition costs of eligible students. Course sponsors may receive reimbursement for those students that are members or employees of a volunteer agency, employees of a municipal emergency medical service, commercial service, hospital-based service or a Basic Life Support (BLS) First Response Service, which is recognized by DOH as providing EMS and has an assigned EMS agency code. Employees of Fire Department of New York (FDNY) are eligible for course reimbursement at reduced rates.
2. Advanced Life Support (ALS) course reimbursement is available for eligible students who are members or employees of ALS volunteer ambulances or ALS First Response Services, municipal services, or commercial and hospital-based services. Employees of Fire Department of New York (FDNY) are eligible for course reimbursement at reduced rates.
3. Students who are members of a private/corporate/industrial EMS service that does not routinely provide EMS in the public sector as a primary response (i.e., corporate property response teams and specialty teams and brigades that do not have municipal recognition and a primary EMS role) are ineligible for state tuition reimbursement.
4. Students who are members of a state or federal agency EMS system are ineligible for state tuition reimbursement.
5. Reimbursement will be provided for candidates who achieve certification only through a DOH approved course.
6. Faculty members who are teaching in an EMS course in which they are refreshing their certification are ineligible for reimbursement.
Special Consideration
1. Courses With Students Eligible and Ineligible for Tuition Reimbursement:
Reimbursement for eligible refresher students enrolled in original courses will be limited to the appropriate BLS or ALS refresher rates.
2. Pilot Recertification Project Students:
Students who are members of agencies participating in the Pilot Recertification Project will be eligible for reimbursement of the mandatory core content hours at the Pilot refresher rate. Course sponsors may NOT seek reimbursement of practical skill examinations for these students.
3. Rapid Recertification Project:
Course sponsors approved to participate in rapid recertification will receive a tuition rate of $50.00 per student in addition to the practical skill examination rate.
Course Sponsor Requirements
1. To be eligible for state tuition reimbursement, a sponsor must have a current DOH approved sponsorship agreement.
2. New York State requires that organizations receiving state funds have a Federal Employer Identification Number.
3. State funding is "last dollar" funding. Funding received from other sources, including grants, employer tuition payments (such as volunteer's employer paying all or part of the cost of training), and municipal payments to ambulance services for this purpose, etc. must be deducted prior to requesting DOH reimbursement. The sponsor must certify that no other claim is being made for funds, which could be obtained elsewhere. Municipalities who are course sponsors may claim reimbursement directly, as long as no other state or local funds have been used to support the course. Sponsors who receive other funds toward the courses must submit vouchers that clearly indicate partial payment is being requested.
4. Students who are charged tuition may be enrolled in the same course as students for whom the sponsor is seeking state reimbursement. However, it is the responsibility of the sponsor to differentiate the number of students for which DOH funding is being requested on the Standard State Voucher.
5. Sponsors are responsible for maintaining documentation on all courses. Documentation includes, but is not limited to:
- Number and certification level of students enrolled in each course; and
- Supporting records for students enrolled in Rapid Recertification or the Pilot Recertification Project.
6. For the purpose of audit, sponsors are responsible for maintaining documentation of all financial aspects of the course. This includes, but is not limited to:
- Records of all funds requested and received from the state to support EMS courses;
- Financial records documenting use of the state reimbursement funds. Please refer to the section entitled Reimbursement Policies for details on what is considered acceptable uses of state reimbursement funds;
- Individual student records which document eligibility for course reimbursement; and
- Records documenting other funding sources received to support the course.
7. Course sponsors that have approval for alternative course delivery methods may be subject to a modified course reimbursement rate.
Financial Penalties
1. Late submission of required paperwork for examination scheduling (E.g. student applications, class lists, etc.) will result in a 50% reduction in a sponsor's total allowed reimbursement for the course number involved. Late submission may require the Department of Health to reschedule the requested examination date possibly impacting the students negatively. The financial penalty will be automatically imposed regardless of exam rescheduling. The value of the assessed penalty cannot be passed on to the student or included in tuition or administrative fees charged by the sponsor.
2. Sponsors who claim state funding may not charge any other fees to students. This excludes tuition charged for BLS CPR courses conducted by, or in accordance with, curricula of outside agencies.
3. Students Who Successfully Complete More Than One EMS Course Per Year:
- The reimbursement policy limits reimbursement for student's tuition costs to no more than two courses within a 12-month period. No more than one of the two reimbursable courses can be an Advanced EMT original certification course.
- EMS course sponsors may bill separately for each course successfully completed by an EMS student when the student independently completes two EMS courses in a 12-month period. An example of this situation is when a student successfully completes an EMT-B course and an advanced level (most probably an intermediate or critical care) course within the same 12-month period, and is not enrolled simultaneously in the two programs.
4. Reimbursement will only be provided for refresher candidates who recertify at the same level of certification and who have less than eighteen (18) months remaining on their existing certification from the date of the state examination.
5. Requests for reimbursement will only be honored from approved course sponsors or EMS agencies that has paid the tuition for their members. Reimbursement is not made directly to students. In order for an EMS agency to be reimbursed for tuition paid; they must submit proof of the member's certification and the receipt for payment of the member's tuition.
6. A sponsor may submit a voucher with student applications for an advance not to exceed more than 50 percent of the potential reimbursement for a course, based on enrollment submitted. Subject to audit, a sponsor may have its next voucher offset if the advanced funding exceeds the total reimbursement of the final number of eligible students who passed the state certification examination. Advance payments may be denied until recoupment is made of any overpayments. Vouchers will only be honored for courses for which the sponsor has submitted a course application and received approval of that application.
7. Reimbursement vouchers must be submitted no later than thirty (30) business days after receipt of examination results. Practical examination vouchers may be submitted at the same time. Requests received for reimbursement after 30 days may be denied by the state. Vouchers received prior to receipt of examination results will be returned to course sponsors for re-submittal after examination results can verify the number of students eligible for reimbursement.
8. As required in the Sponsor's Administrative Manual, all documents related to a course must be maintained for a minimum of six (6) years. Additionally, any funds received from New York State are subject to audit by the state. Sponsors must cooperate with such an audit.
9. Charging Tuition:
a) Students who are charged tuition may be enrolled in the same course as students for whom the sponsor is seeking state reimbursement (and not subject to tuition). However, sponsors may not charge additional tuition for CFR, EMT, EMT-I, or EMT-CC candidates for whom reimbursement is being sought from the state.
b) Tuition may be charged to cover the cost of training an EMT-Paramedic student. The cost, when added to the state reimbursement may not be more than the tuition that would be charged to a student who is not eligible for reimbursement.
10. Course reimbursement received by the sponsor from the state may only be used for direct costs of conducting the course and/or costs related to improvement of the sponsor's EMS education program. These costs include but are not limited to: skills equipment (i.e., backboards, manikins), educational audio/video equipment and related software, instructor salaries, administrative costs, supplies and any other costs that are directly related to the educational programs delivered by the sponsor for EMS state certification courses.
11. ALS tuition funds are available to volunteers of BLS services if that service is in the process of seeking ALS status (e.g., not yet certified as an ALS service) if the certification of providers as AEMT is the only criterion not yet met for ALS designation. So that tuition reimbursement is approved, letters from the Chair of the Regional EMS Council and Regional Emergency Medical Advisory Committee (REMAC) indicating the service has notified them of intent to apply for ALS authorization and is capable of providing this level of care must be submitted to the DOH. Confirmation from the Regional DOH office of the service's ability to provide ALS once training is complete must also be provided.
12. If an eligible AEMT wishes to recertify at the EMT-B level and not the advanced level and has less than 18 months remaining on their certification, tuition reimbursement will be available to support the EMT-B recertification.
Course Reimbursement Rates
Effective for all courses beginning on or after August 1, 2002, the following reimbursement schedule shall apply:
| Course Type | Reimbursement Rate |
FDNY Rates | Practical Skills Rates |
| CFR Original | $ 220 | $ 110 | $ 40 |
| CFR Refresher | $ 100 | $ 50 | $ 45 |
| EMT Original | $ 700 | $ 350 | $ 75 |
| EMT Refresher | $ 335 | $ 150 | $ 90 |
| EMT-I Original | $ 530 | $ 260 | $ 75 |
| EMT-I Refresher | $ 400 | $ 200 | $ 90 |
| EMT-CC Original | $ 1,200 | $ 600 | $ 100 |
| EMT-CC Refresher | $ 700 | $ 350 | $ 125 |
| *EMT-P Original | $ 1,500 | $ 600 | $ 150 |
| *EMT-P Refresher | $ 700 | $ 350 | $ 180 |
| Pilot Recertification Program |
|||
| EMT Refresher | $ 300 | NA | NA |
| EMT-I Refresher | $ 375 | NA | NA |
| EMT-CC Refresher | $ 400 | NA | NA |
| EMT-P Refresher | $ 500 | NA | NA |
| Rapid Recertification Program |
|||
| EMT-I | $ 50 | NA | $ 75 |
| EMT-CC | $ 50 | NA | $ 100 |
| EMT-P | $ 50 | NA | $ 150 |
* The Paramedic Sponsor may charge tuition in addition to NYS reimbursement. Per Item 9b of this Policy Statement, the sum of the tuition and NYS reimbursement may not exceed the amount charged for candidates for which the sponsor will not be receiving NYS reimbursement.
| Certification Level | Member Type | Agency Type | Eligibility for Funding |
| CFR | Unpaid or Paid | Volunteer | Yes |
| Municipal | Yes | ||
| Hospital | Yes | ||
| Commerical | Yes | ||
| EMT | Unpaid or Paid | Volunteer | Yes |
| Municipal | Yes | ||
| Hospital | Yes | ||
| Commerical | Yes | ||
| AEMT | Unpaid or Paid | Volunteer | Yes |
| Municipal | Yes | ||
| Hospital | Yes | ||
| Commerical | Yes |
Questions regarding this policy may be directed to:
Karen Meggenhofen, Director EMS Education and Certification
NYS Department of Health
Bureau of Emergency Medical Services
Hedley Park Place
433 River Street, Suite 303
Troy, New York 12180-2299
(518) 402-0996, Ext. 4
Issued and Authorized by: Edward G. Wronski, Director
Bureau of Emergency Medical Services