EMS on the Hill Day Lauded as Success
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The inaugural EMS on the Hill Day has been lauded as highly successful.
But, EMS personnel say they don't have time to rest on their laurels.
"We have a lot more work to do, including following up with the representatives, senators and their staff," said Jerry Johnston, one of the key organizers of the event.
On Tuesday, nearly 150 responders headed to Capitol Hill to let their elected officials know they need assistance. Some met with senators or delegates while others presented their concerns to staff.
Connie Meyer, NAEMT president-elect, said things went well during the meetings. "It really seemed like they were interested in what we had to say."
Meyer, a paramedic captain in Kansas, said people understood how to make the best the little time they had with their representatives.
"There wasn't much time for small talk. We got right down to business..."
During a meeting with Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, Johnston explained the importance of increasing the rate of Medicare reimbursement to help ambulance crews pay for associated costs.
He said departments are struggling to survive on the percentage they are getting now. Johnston pointed out that a 1997 GAO report showed ambulance providers are being reimbursed significantly below cost.
On another issue, Johnston told Grassley that the EMS community would like to have all providers killed in the line of duty be eligible for PSOB benefits.
Currently, survivors of providers of non-profit or for-profit agencies who are killed in the line of duty are not eligible for benefits.
Johnston said he believes it's time that issue is rectified. "How do you tell the family of someone killed that they are not eligible because of the affiliation? A life is a life..."
He added that the precedent has already been set. Providers working for private ambulance companies who were killed in the terrorist attacks on 9/11 were deemed eligible.
Johnston, a paramedic from Iowa, said families shouldn't have to be told that their loved one's sacrifice is less important because it didn't happen at Ground Zero.
