North Dakota bases ambulance grants on trips and local resources

North Dakota’s Department of Health and Human Services calculates grants in consultation with the emergency medical services advisory council. Services with more than 800 runs per year cannot receive funding under this formula. Other eligibility requirements also apply. The formula uses average annual ambulance runs, or trips, over the two most recent calendar years. The starting budget is average annual runs multiplied by $2,023, with a $125,000 minimum. The formula subtracts $795 per average annual run and $5 per $1,000 of the response area's property tax valuation for the most recent taxable year. The calculated grant is capped at $225,000 and cannot exceed average annual runs multiplied by $2,023. The formula applies from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2027.

The department applies a minimum when calculating each eligible service's grant after deductions. This rule covers eligible ambulance services receiving grants under the funding formula. The minimum is at least 50% of the previous year's grant, but cannot exceed the amount allowed by the initial grant formula. If the legislature sets aside too little money to pay all calculated grants, each service receives a proportional share. The minimum applies to grants distributed during the funding period ending June 30, 2027.

The department leaves certain acquired areas out of the response area used to calculate a service's grant. The exclusion concerns the area whose property tax valuation is used in an eligible service's grant calculation. The service must have acquired the area after April 1, 2024, because a neighboring ambulance service closed. The exclusion applies during the July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2027, funding period.