EMS legislation is hot on Capitol Hill.

Help drive it to passage!

Engage your Members of Congress online and during the Congress’ District Work Period this August.

We need YOU to activate your grassroots advocacy muscles. Engage Congress this month online and in-person while your congressional members are back in their home district. The new Treatment-In-Place (TIP) bill introduced in the House (H.R.8977) and other EMS legislative priorities (SIREN Reauthorization, MIH-CP, EMS Counts, and Medicare Extenders) have the attention of Congress but need your help to move them to the House and Senate floor! Visit NAEMT’s Online Legislative Service to educate and engage your members of Congress, schedule meetings in their district home office, or attend a local Town Hall meeting.

EMS Reimbursement for Treatment in Place (TIP)

A goal of healthcare should be to provide patients with the right care, at the right time, and in the most cost-effective manner. In contradiction, EMS is only reimbursed if a patient is transported to the emergency department. TIP supports quality patient care and preserves hospital and EMS resources, allowing EMS agencies to provide appropriate, patient-centric acute care in the comfort of patient’s homes.

REQUESTS AND BACKGROUND:

• Co-sponsor H.R.8977, the Improving Access to Emergency Medical Services Act, creating a pilot program to test and evaluate the TIP model under the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI).
• Introduced by Rep. Carey Rep. Carey (R-OH-15) and Rep. Doggett (D-TX-37)
• The Case for Reimbursement of TIP and TAD (Transport to Alternate Destinations)

For more details or to co-sponsor, legislators can contact Emily Graeter in Rep. Carey’s office at emily.graeter@mail.house.gov or Afton Cissell in Rep. Doggett’s at afton.cissell@mail.house.gov.

FY25 Funding for SIREN Act Grants and SIREN Reauthorization

The SIREN Act created a grant program for public and non-profit EMS agencies and fire departments in rural areas to support the recruitment, retention, education, and equipping of EMS personnel. Rural EMS agencies and fire departments often lack the resources to pay for even basic operational needs, and this program is aimed at helping meet some of those needs.

REQUESTS AND BACKGROUND:

• Appropriate the FY2025 SIREN Act grants at $32M; The House included $31M and the Senate included $13.5M in their final packages.
• Pass Reauthorization of The SIREN Reauthorization Act (S.265/H.R.4646) for an additional five years; Introduced by Sen. Durbin (D-IL) and Rep. Joyce (R-OH-14); S.265 passed the Senate in December 2023.

For more details or to co-sponsor, legislators can contact Ashley Roberts in Representative Joyce’s office at ashley.roberts@mail.house.gov or William Seabrook in Representative Dingell’s office at william.seabrook@mail.house.gov.

Mobile Integrated Healthcare (MIH) Community Paramedicine (CP) Programs

MIH-CP is an innovative way for healthcare professionals to use patient-centered mobile resources outside the hospital environment. These programs have been proven to improve patient outcomes and lower healthcare costs, but they are extremely limited due to a lack of funding.

REQUESTS AND BACKGROUND:

Co-Sponsor H.R.8042, the Community Paramedicine Act of 2024, creating a grant program to support community paramedicine services and establish an advisory board comprised of national community paramedicine, emergency medical service, and fire service organizations to advise, assist, and peer review grant applications in rural and underserved areas.

• Introduced by Rep. Cleaver (D-MO-5) and Rep. Armstrong (ND-01)
• The grant will award qualified entities up to $750,000 for individual applications and $1.5 million for joint applications,
• Additional Resources on MIH-CP

For more details or to co-sponsor legislation contact Brock Boze in Rep. Cleaver’s office at brock.boze@mail.house.gov or Joseph Ballard in Rep. Armstrong’s office at joseph.ballard@mail.house.gov.

Medicare Extenders

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is in the process of gathering cost data collection to update the ambulance fee schedule, but that process has been delayed. The current Medicare “add-on” payments expire on December 31, 2024. Without the extension of these ground ambulance “add-ons,” many ambulance service organizations will not be able to continue serving their communities.

REQUESTS AND BACKGROUND:

Co-sponsor S.1673/H.R.1666, the Protecting Access to Ground Ambulance Medical Services Act of 2023, temporarily extends additional reimbursement for ground ambulance services until the Medicare Ambulance Fee Schedule is reformed.

• Introduced by Sen. Cortez Masto (D-NV) and Rep. Westrup (R-OH-02)
• Extending these payments for an additional three years will allow enough time for the cost-collection data to be gathered and analyzed so that an informed, long-term solution to the chronic underfunding of the ambulance fee schedule can be adopted.

For more details or to co-sponsor H.R.1666 contact Kelsi Wilson with Rep. Wenstrup’s office at kelsi.wilson@mail.house.gov or Cameryn Blackmore with Representative Sewell’s office at cameryn.blackmore@mail.house.gov. For S.1673 contact Christina McCauley with Sen. Cortez Masto’s office at christina_mccauley@cortezmasto.senate.gov or contact Maria Olson with Sen. Collins’ office at maria_olson@collins.senate.gov.

EMS Counts Act of 2023

The Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) is a system used by the federal government to collect data for planning purposes. The current SOC system does not count Firefighters who are cross trained as EMTs or Paramedics as EMS practitioners, leading to an undercounting of EMS personnel of at least 659,000. This data is used by government officials and elected leaders to make funding and other policy decisions. An inaccurate count has significant ripple effects across EMS and the communities it serves.

The SOC Policy Committee is accepting comments on proposed changes until August 12, 2024. Send a message to the SOC Policy Committee supporting the addition of “Firefighter/EMT” and “Firefighter/Paramedic”. A link to the notice is here. Reference NAEMT’s attached comment.

REQUESTS AND BACKGROUND:

Co-sponsor S.1115 and vote for H.R.2574, the EMS Counts Act requiring the Secretary of Labor to revise the SOC System by dividing the general occupational category of Firefighters into four sub-categories:(1) Firefighters. (2) Firefighter/EMTs. (3) Firefighter/Paramedics. (4) Firefighters, All Other.

• Introduced in 2023 by Sen. Casey and Sen. Collins in the Senate and by Rep. Susan Wild and Rep. Thompson in the House.
• H.R. 2574 recently passed the House Education and Labor Committee unanimously and is awaiting floor action.

To learn more about H.R. 2574 or co-sponsor, legislators can contact Laura Bell in Rep. Wild’s office at laura.bell@mail.house.gov or Brian Arata in Rep. Thompson’s office at brian.arata@mail.house.gov. For S.1115, contact Zoey Keeley at zoey_keeley@help.senate.gov in Sen. Casey’s office.

Congressional EMS Caucus

The EMS Caucus helps promote, educate, and increase awareness around the federal policy issues impacting EMS and strives to form a cohesive bipartisan effort to support EMS practitioners of all types nationwide.

REQUESTS AND BACKGROUND:

• House Only
• Co-chaired by Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC-08) and Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI-12)
• List of current EMS Caucus Members

Encourage your House legislators to join the EMS Caucus. They can contact Alex Stepahin at alex.stepahin@mail.house.gov in Rep. Hudson’s office or William Seabrooks at william.seabrooks@mail.house.gov in Rep. Dingell’s office to join.

Thank you for helping to advance the EMS profession!