County staff recommends assigning vacated coastal ambulance area to Western Lane; public hearings to follow

County staff informed the Lane County Board of Commissioners that South Lincoln intends to vacate ambulance service area (ASA) #2, a coastal "sliver" of service territory, and that Western Lane Fire & EMS has voted to accept assignment if the board authorizes it. Staff said two public hearings and a board assignment vote will be required and that, because South Lincoln's notice triggers statutory timelines, the county may rely on mutual-aid agreements with neighboring providers to close any gap in coverage.

The board heard a detailed explanation of the county's statutory role: Lane County assigns ambulance providers to ASAs, monitors response performance, and must ensure geographic coverage for emergency transport and responsiveness timelines. Staff traced the task force history to October 2024 when Oakridge flagged potential inability to maintain coverage and said the county convened a task force (including one elected official and one non-elected representative from each transporting agency) to identify funding and operational options.

Key data and timeline details: staff said the ASA #2 area had 16 ambulance calls in 2025 and three calls so far in 2026, signaling low call volume but long rural response times. South Lincoln's decision to vacate, driven by internal priority shifts and funding pressures, created an immediate coverage issue: Western Lane's board voted recently to accept assignment if the board of commissioners assigns the area to them. The county emphasized the need for a 60-day statutory notice period for ASA reassignment and said that a request for proposals could be run but would likely not solve the need within the required timeframe.

Systemwide funding pressures: staff described broader financial stresses affecting ASA holders: two local fire district funding measures failed in the recent primary election, and districts are considering subcontracting to private ambulance companies or reducing noncritical call responses. The county noted structural problems with the ambulance funding model: Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement caps and prohibitions on patient-billing make ambulance agencies reliant on uneven local tax bases and local tax mechanisms (municipal/city or fire-district levies), creating inequities across service areas.

Operations and policy work: the EMS task force has established subcommittees: operational chiefs are identifying near-term efficiencies (personnel and response models) while an elected-official policy group will work on legislative approaches, potentially including state-level advocacy for reimbursement or Medicaid-waiver changes. Staff said the task force's work will likely extend beyond 18 months and confirmed six entities (including the county) are currently participating.

What comes next: staff will schedule required public hearings about assigning ASA #2 to Western Lane Fire & EMS, continue the task force and subcommittee work to explore operational efficiencies and transport alternatives (including potential partnerships with Ride Source/LTD for non-emergency transport), and present the ASA assignment recommendation to the board for vote after hearings.