W. Va. Code R. § 64-116-4

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 50, December 13, 2024

Section 64-116-4 - Formula; Allocation of Funds; Distribution

4.1. The Director shall distribute funds for salary supplementation and crisis response to counties as directed by the State Legislature, this rule, and State law.

4.2. The amount of funds for salary supplementation and crisis response available for distribution to counties by the formula established by subsection 4.4. of this rule is the balance of available funds in the Emergency Medical Services Salary Enhancement Fund as established in W. Va. Code § 16-4C-25.

4.3. Each county shall complete and submit a County Questionnaire attached to this rule as APPENDIX A. The County Questionnaire shall be supplied by the Director on or before August 1 of each year and shall be submitted to the Office of Emergency Medical Services on or before September 1 of each year. The questionnaire shall be used in determining the allocations of funds according to the formula established by subsection 4.4. of this rule. Counties that do not submit a completed County Questionnaire will be given scores of 0.

4.4. The Director shall calculate the amount of funds for salary supplementation and crisis response to be distributed to counties according to the following formula:

4.4.1. Step 1 Crisis Response: 10 percent of the funds available for distribution shall be divided equally among each emergency medical services region, as defined by the Office of Emergency Medical Services, and shall be allocated solely to the enhancement of crisis response services within each region. Within each region, the funds allocated shall be divided among counties according to the number of members each county supports on a crisis response team, as outlined below. These crisis response funds shall be expended for no purpose other than ensuring crisis response teams receive uniform training and coordination through a statewide program to ensure continuity of crisis response services.

4.4.1.a. Crisis response teams:

4.4.1.a.1. Each emergency medical services region shall establish a crisis response team consisting of no less than 10 active members.

4.4.1.a.2. The county commissions comprising each emergency medical services region shall cooperate to recruit crisis response team members. Each county having one or more members serving on a crisis response team shall receive funding according to the formula set forth in subsection 4.4.1.

4.4.2. Step 2 Counties demonstrating the most need: Counties that share at least one border with a neighboring state are assigned a coefficient of 4. Super Rural counties are assigned a coefficient of 4. Rural counties are assigned a coefficient of 2. Urban counties are assigned a coefficient of 0. Rurality is determined by the level of rurality on 51 percent of the zip codes in each county established by the most recent rurality index published by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services available at https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Medicare-Fee-for-Service-Payment/AmbulanceFeeSchedule.

4.4.3. Step 3 Existing levy for emergency medical services: Counties with an existing levy for emergency medical services or a special emergency ambulance service fee pursuant to W. Va. Code § 7-15-17 are assigned a coefficient of 3.

4.4.4. Step 4 Maximum allowable rate on regular levies:

4.4.4.a. Counties that have reached the maximum allowable rate on all regular levies are assigned a coefficient of 2.

4.4.4.b. Counties that have reached the maximum allowable rate on one half of the regular levies are assigned a coefficient of 1.

4.4.5. Step 5 Additional qualifying factors:

4.4.5.a. Counties that report an emergency medical services personnel vacancy rate of more than 20 percent are assigned a coefficient of 2.

4.4.5.b. Counties that report an emergency medical services personnel vacancy rate of between 10 and 20 percent are assigned a coefficient of 1.

4.4.5.c. Counties that report an emergency medical services personnel annual salary differential of a minimum of 10 percent lower than any bordering county are assigned a coefficient of 1.

4.4.5.d. Counties that report one or more cities or municipalities with no projected budget surplus during a fiscal year are assigned a coefficient of 1.

4.4.6. Step 6 County distribution: County distribution is determined by:

4.4.6.a. Adding the coefficients from Steps 2 through 5 for each county;

4.4.6.b. Tier 1: 50 percent of the available funds shall be divided equally among those counties with a coefficient total of 12 or greater; Tier 2: 35 percent of the available funds shall be divided equally among those counties with a coefficient total of 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, or 11; Tier 3: 15 percent of the available funds shall be divided equally among those counties with a coefficient total of 5 or less.

4.4.6.b.1. If no counties fall within Tier 2, the available funds that would be allocated to Tier 2 counties shall be divided in half; one half shall be redistributed equally among those counties falling within Tier 1, and one half shall be redistributed equally among those counties falling within Tier 3.

4.4.6.b.2. If no counties fall within Tier 3, the available funds that would be allocated to Tier 3 counties shall be redistributed equally among those counties falling within Tier 1.

4.4.6.b.3. If five or fewer counties fall within Tier 1, those counties falling within Tier 1 shall be assigned to Tier 2 and the available funds that would be allocated to Tier 1 counties shall be divided in half; one half shall be redistributed equally among those counties falling within Tier 2, and one half shall be redistributed equally among those counties falling within Tier 3.

4.4.6.b.4. If five or fewer counties fall within Tier 2, those counties falling within Tier 2 shall be assigned to Tier 3 and the available funds that would be allocated to Tier 2 counties shall be divided in half; one half shall be redistributed equally among those counties falling within Tier 1, and one half shall be redistributed equally among those counties falling within Tier 3.

4.4.6.b.5. If five or fewer counties fall within Tier 3, those counties falling within Tier 3 shall be assigned to Tier 2 and the available funds that would be allocated to Tier 3 counties shall be divided in half; one half shall be redistributed equally among those counties falling within Tier 1, and one half shall be redistributed equally among those counties falling within Tier 2.

4.5. In performing the assessment described in subsection 4.4. of this rule, the Director shall use the most recent information available as provided by each county.

4.6. The Director shall complete the assessments described in subsection 4.4. of this rule as soon as possible but no later than September 15 of each year.

4.7. After completing the assessments described in subsection 4.4. of this rule, the Director shall inform each county in writing of its allocation as soon as possible, but no later than October 1 of each year.

4.8. The Director shall cause funds for salary supplementation and crisis response, together with the post-fund distribution assessment attached to this rule as APPENDIX B, to be distributed to counties according to standard State procedures as soon as possible, but no later than November 1 of each year.

4.9. Counties receiving funds in accordance with this rule that house more than one ambulance transporting agency shall distribute funds to those agencies using a percentage allocation based upon 911 call volume. There is a presumption that active emergency medical services personnel will receive salary supplementation funds from their primary agency.

4.10. Counties receiving funds in accordance with this rule shall complete and submit the post-fund distribution assessment to the Office of Emergency Medical Services on or before December 1 of each year. Counties that fail to distribute funds in accordance with this rule may be disqualified from receipt of salary supplementation funds during the following calendar year.

W. Va. Code R. § 64-116-4