Committee advances bill to declare emergency medical services an essential service in Colorado

The Senate Health and Human Services Committee advanced House Bill 26-1238, which would designate emergency medical services (EMS) as an essential service, moving the measure to the Committee of the Whole with a favorable recommendation and placing it on the committee’s consent calendar.

Senator Bazely, a co-prime sponsor, told the committee the change would ‘‘elevate emergency management services to the same level as law enforcement and fire’’ and help secure funding and staffing stability for EMS agencies.

Mike Bateman, who identified himself as representing the Health Facilities and Emergency Medical Services Division of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, told the committee Colorado EMS agencies respond to "more than 900,000 calls per year" and said many rural agencies operate below a financial-viability threshold. "Many rural agencies are called to respond fewer than 1,200 times per year, which is the threshold for financial viability," Bateman said, adding that if low-volume agencies closed, more than 42,000 EMS calls could go unanswered annually and that six counties currently rely on out-of-state agencies for EMS coverage.

Timothy Deanston, chief executive officer of Uniontown Regional Health Service District and treasurer of the Emergency Medical Services Association of Colorado, said the bill recognizes EMS as a frontline health-care service, not just transportation, and would support reforms such as treatment-in-place and alternative destinations that aim to use health-care resources more efficiently.

Committee action reflected unanimous support in the hearing: Madam Vice Chair moved the bill to the Committee of the Whole with a favorable recommendation; the motion passed on roll call and the vice chair requested placement on the consent calendar, which the committee approved with no opposition.

The bill’s supporters said statutory designation would open more funding and coordination opportunities for EMS, particularly in rural and frontier counties where hospitals and trauma centers are distant or absent. The Committee of the Whole will receive the bill next; it was added to the committee’s consent calendar for expedited consideration.