20 on '20: A view of Maine's health care, from the street level
Photo / Jim Neuger
Robert Russell is CEO of North East Mobile Health Services, which is based in Scarborough and provides EMS services.
Robert Russell is CEO of North East Mobile Health Services, which is based in Scarborough and provides emergency medical services.
It responds to more than 22,000 emergency calls a year, from Rockland to Sanford. It has more than 220 providers and 60 vehicles.
While answering 911 calls is stressful in itself, companies like this one provide EMS services for municipalities that are often cash-strapped and caught in a bind with medical reimbursement rates.
“Our model is designed to relieve this burden from municipalities, especially small to medium sized towns,” Russell says. “For instance, we have a regional partnership with Camden, Rockport, Lincolnville and Hope. By pooling their resources, we are able to provide these four towns exceptional EMS services at a third of the cost that just one town would incur for a standalone municipal service. It saves taxpayers money, removes the administrative burden from each town, and ensures professional services are available when every second counts.”
Russell said he’s “cautiously optimistic” looking at the health care landscape in 2020. “Long-standing institutional challenges remain, but progress has been made and there is a lot of support nationally and state-wide for EMS. For instance, a significant source of operating loss for EMS agencies in Maine was the disparity in reimbursement rates between MaineCare and Medicare,” he says.
Maine addressed that disparity in 2019, raising MaineCare reimbursement rates to the Medicare rate. Though it still results in an operating loss, it will reduce the loss to EMS agencies statewide by $10 million.
“Nationally, Medicare has been directed to assemble cost reporting for EMS agencies. We are certain that this mandate will demonstrate that EMS is working at a loss under current Medicare rates. We are hopeful that increases to the Medicare rate will follow once the study is complete,” Russell said, adding: “The larger emergency response community is unified in building stronger relationships among partners and exploring how we can work together to solve problems.”
North East Mobile has increased its presence in southern Maine. While it’s a more competitive market, having a presence there “has allowed us to focus on core competencies and maintain a strong presence in those areas.”
Staffing challenges have been a constant problem in EMS, whether it’s small, volunteer ambulance corps or providers like North East Mobile.
“Every industry, sector, and business in Maine is experiencing a labor shortage and we are no different. We are utilizing all available resources to address this issue,” he said.
It offers annual scholarships that pay for paramedic certification, which “is often a launch point for doctors and nurses,” he says.
A bigger issue is that the existing EMTs are in such demand that they’re often shared by agencies, “which leads to EMTs working long hours,” he says.
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