By Ruth Brown, Idaho Reports
Major change could be coming to emergency medical services in Idaho as Senate State Affairs advanced a bill that transfers EMS Bureau’s responsibilities to the Idaho Military Division.
Idaho has never declared EMS an essential service, such as police and fire. As a result, the state is not required to fund it. For decades, EMS has struggled to find funding, and many agencies rely heavily on volunteers and donations.
This bill moves the Emergency Medical Services Bureau from the Department of Health and Welfare and relocates it into the Idaho Military Division. The Military Division already coordinates emergency management with state and local government through the Office of Emergency Management.
The bill still does not deem EMS essential, but calls it “critical to the life, health, and safety of Idahoans.”
House Bill 206, sponsored by Sen. Carl Bjerke, R-Coeur d’Alene, heads to the Senate after it passed the House of Representatives by 53-15 last week.
Last year’s to bill to fund EMS services, declaring it an essential service, failed to make it out of committee.
Local counties and cities would still have control over their own EMS programs and dispatching 911 calls.
Idaho has 196 cities and 88% of it is rural, Bjerke said. EMS availability varies widely county and by county and many counties do not have ambulance taxing districts to fund the service in the state.
“It’s time for us to decided how we’re going to structure EMS in the state,” Bjerke argued.
In 2021, the Office of Performance Evaluations published a report on emergency medical services in rural Idaho, highlighting funding and staffing challenges as well as pointing out that about 7 out of 10 emergency medical workers are volunteers.
Should the bill pass, it would also ask for shift of funding and $150,000 one-time Emergency Medical Services dedicated fund spending authority to cover the cost of transition expenses, $60,000 to contract with a physician to serve as a part-time state EMS medical director to replace the Idaho Emergency Medical Services Physician Commission.
Overall, the state would still not be declaring EMS essential but may set agencies for position to better to work together. The bill would not provide new funding for individual agencies.
Kelli Brassfield, policy advisor for the Idaho Association of Counties testified in support of the bill, saying the majority of counties are supportive. There was no opposition to the bill in Senate State Affairs on Monday.
The bill must pass the Senate before heading to Gov. Brad Little.
Ruth Brown | Producer
Ruth Brown grew up in South Dakota and her first job out of college was covering the South Dakota Legislature. She’s since moved on to Idaho lawmakers. Brown spent 10 years working in print journalism, including newspapers such as the Idaho Statesman and Idaho Press, where she’s covered everything from the correctional system to health care issues. She joined Idaho Reports in 2021 and looks forward to telling stories about how state policy can impact the lives of regular Idahoans.