About the 2020-2025 Medic One/EMS levy

What is Medic One/EMS?

• Medic One/EMS services are those that you get any time you call 9-1-1 for a medical emergency in King County.
  
• It is available to everyone, whatever the medical emergency.
  
• By dialing 9-1-1, callers have immediate access to the system and its excellent medical care, regardless of location, circumstances, or time of day.
  
• The Medic One program was started in Seattle in the early 1970s.
  
• It now serves a region of nearly 2.3 million in population, and responds on average every 2 minutes to a medical emergency.
  
  • In 2021, firefighter/EMTs responded to more than 225,000 calls in King County.
    
  • Paramedics responded to more than 45,000 of those calls to provide critical medical help.
    
• With Medic One, cardiac arrest victims here are 2 to 3 times more likely to survive, compared to other cities. In 2021, the survival rate for cardiac arrest was 46% throughout the region.

What is a Medic One/EMS Levy? And how much does it cost?

• The 2020-2025 Medic One/EMS levy is a property tax levy.
  
• A property tax levy has supported King County's Medic One/EMS system since 1979.
  
• The EMS levy started at a rate of 26.5-cents per $1,000 of assessed value in 2020. An owner of a $500,000 home in the region paid approximately $133 that year for Medic One services.
  
• As a homeowner’s assessed value increases, the levy rate decreases. The 2022 levy rate is 24.8-cents per $1,000 AV.