Northeast Tennessee EMS crews are facing their own emergency. Crews from Sullivan, Washington, Johnson, and Carter Counties are upset over Governor Phil Bredesen's recent budget cuts, specifically his reduction in TennCare reimbursement funding. Those cuts have left area agencies with a combined $1 million shortfall.
Here is a breakdown of the reductions:
Washington County-Johnson City EMS $400,000
Sullivan County EMS $276,000
Carter County EMS $200,000
Johnson County EMS $176,000
Greene County EMS $175,000
Today, many of those agencies sounded an alarm of their own.
"If we don't make a stand now, you're not going to have this service five and 10 years down the road," Carter County Rescue Squad Director Terry Arnold said.
As part of a group effort, he and other EMS directors held a press conference to send a message.
"We were in a critical state and now we're in a drastic state," Sullivan County EMS Operations Director Mark Vance said.
During 2008 budget talks, the agencies say the State of Tennessee reduced EMS TennCare reimbursement statewide by $11 million without any notice.
"We were blindsided," Johnson County EMS Director Paul Anderson said. "We found out about this in a meeting down in Nashville that it already had been passed."
Directors say if state leaders don't find a way to come up with the missing money when the 2009 legislative session begins, taxpayers may be in trouble long-term. They say county's may have to raise taxes to come up with the missing funds or agencies may just have to cut services, like search and rescue squads.
"The ambulance service part of it, that part of it would be the last thing we would look at and we're hoping we won't have to cut any jobs or services," Washington County-Johnson City EMS Executive Director Allen Taylor said.
However, the state says these agencies saw this coming.
"Starting November 2007, TennCare did very public presentations about all of our recommendations, including reductions," Bureau of TennCare Public Affairs Officer Marilyn Wilson said. "This (reduction) was one of many."
This just goes to show the importance of agencies keeping a close eye on budget talks at the capital every year, Wilson said.
Keep in mind, state legislators approved these cuts. However, EMS agencies are not mad at them. They argue this reduction was disguised in the budget to look less important than it really was.
Now, Northeast Tennessee EMS crews are urging taxpayers to call their state legislators in hopes of persuading them to salvage this funding come January.
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