Section 163-24-4 - EMS Entity Funding Allocation1.Maximum and Minimum AllocationsA. Transporting EMS Entities I. Minimum allocation shall be no less than $15,000 per qualified applicant that functions as a transporting ambulance service.II. Maximum allocation shall not exceed $200,000 per qualified applicant that functions as a transporting ambulance service.B. Non-Transporting EMS Entities I. Minimum allocation shall be no less than $5,000 per qualified applicant that functions as a non-transporting service.II. Maximum allocation shall not exceed $50,000 per qualified applicant that functions as a non-transporting service.2.Allocation Algorithm. The Director shall use the following algorithm to determine the allocation for each qualified applicant:A. Components I. Rurality Score by Zip Code. a. The Director shall use the Frontier and Remote Area Codes published by the United States Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service (updated April 15, 2015), which this rule incorporates by reference. However, in situations where there is no score for a specific zip code, or the data is older than ten (10) years at the time of calculating the algorithm, the Director shall formulate the rurality score using the "Rural Indicators" in the Ambulance Fee Schedule and ZIP Code Files published by the US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (published December 2023), which is incorporated into this rule by reference. b. If using the Frontier and Remote Area Codes, the Director shall assign the following scores based on the Frontier and Remote (FAR) classification for each zip code: i. No FAR Classification: Score of One (1)ii. FAR Classification of One (1): Score of Two (2)iii. FAR Classification of Two (2): Score of Three (3)iv. FAR Classification of Three (3): Score of Four (4)v. FAR Classification of Four (4): Score of Five (5)c. If using the Ambulance Fee Schedule and ZIP Code Files, the Director shall assign the following scores based on the Rural Indicator field for each zip code: i. Blank/Urban: Score of One (1)ii. R (Rural): Score of Three (3)iii. B (Super Rural): Score of Five (5)II. Call Volume a. The Director shall query de-identified electronic patient care reporting information from the Maine EMS and Fire Incident Reporting System (MEFIRS) to determine the number of 9-1-1 activations, including scene responses, mutual aid requests, and ambulance intercepts that each eligible EMS entity experienced for each zip code.B. Calculations I. The Director shall perform the calculations below to determine the distribution percentage or "DP" for each eligible EMS entity. These calculations shall be performed separately for transporting and nontransporting eligible EMS entities.II. A rurality-weighted call volume or "RWCV" will be calculated for each eligible EMS entity by multiplying the number of activations the entity experienced for each zip code by each zip code's rurality score and then totaling the resulting products.III. The total rurality-weighted call volume or "TRWCV" for each category (transporting and nontransporting) will be the sum of the RWCVs of all the eligible EMS entities in the respective category.IV. An eligible EMS entity's distribution percentage or "DP" will equal the eligible EMS entity's RWCV divided by the TRWCV of the eligible entity's respective category (transporting or nontransporting).C. Allocation Process I. The Director shall identify all transporting and non-transporting eligible EMS entities based on the information available to the Bureau of Emergency Medical Services and determine the final maximum allocation or "FMA" for each of these entities. The Director shall provide a list of these entities and their corresponding FMAs in the Announcement of Funding Opportunity.a. Nontransporting Eligible EMS Entities.i. Initial maximum allocations or "IMAs" for all nontransporting eligible EMS entities will be calculated by multiplying the entity's distribution percentage by the total amount of stabilization funds available for nontransporting entities.ii. If an entity's IMA is less than or equal to $5,000, the entity's FMA will be $5,000.iii. If an entity's IMA is greater than or equal to $50,000, the entity's FMA will be $50,000.iv. If an entity's IMA is greater than $5,000 but less than $50,000, its IMA will be recalculated by multiplying the entity's distribution percentage by the total amount of stabilization funds available for nontransporting entities minus the amounts applied as FMAs to entities pursuant to subsections ii and iii above.v. If the recalculation of IMAs in subsection iv above generates IMAs that are either less than or equal to $5,000 or greater than or equal to $50,000, FMAs will be assigned to those applicable entities in accordance with subsections ii and iii above.vi. IMAs greater than $5,000 but less than $50,000 will continue to be recalculated in accordance with subsections iv and v above until no IMAs are less than or equal to $5,000 or greater than or equal to $50,000. At that point, the entity's last recalculated IMA will become its FMA.b. Transporting EMS Entities i. Initial maximum allocations or "IMAs" for all transporting eligible EMS entities will be calculated by multiplying the entity's distribution percentage by the total amount of stabilization funds available for transporting entities.ii. If an entity's IMA is less than or equal to $15,000, the entity's FMA will be $15,000.iii. If an entity's IMA is greater than or equal to $200,000, the entity's FMA will be $200,000.iv. If an entity's IMA is greater than $15,000 but less than $200,000, its IMA will be recalculated by multiplying the entity's distribution percentage by the total amount of stabilization funds available for transporting entities minus the amounts applied as FMAs to entities pursuant to ii and iii above.v. If the recalculation of IMAs in subsection iv above generates IMAs that are either less than or equal to $15,000, or greater than or equal to $200,000, FMAs will be assigned to those applicable entities in accordance with subsections ii and iii above.vi. IMAs greater than $15,000 but less than $200,000 will continue to be recalculated in accordance with subsections iv and v above until no IMAs are less than or equal to $15,000 or greater than or equal to $200,000. At that point, the entity's last recalculated IMA will become its FMA.D. Posting. The Director shall provide the final maximum allocation for each EMS entity as determined by this algorithm as a component of the Announcement of Funding Opportunity.16-163 C.M.R. ch. 24, § 4