This week, U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Skamania, joined a group of bipartisan colleagues to introduce the Protecting Access to Ground Ambulance Medical Services Act aimed at ensuring rural and remote communities maintain access to critical emergency services.
She was joined in introducing the legislation by U.S. Reps. Claudia Tenney, R-New York, and Terri Sewell, D-Alabama.
The legislation aims to provide adequate Medicare reimbursement for emergency service providers, helping them hire and retain EMT staff and modernize their equipment, a news release from Gluesenkamp Perez stated.
“Every day, responsive emergency medical services save lives in rural communities like mine, where hospitals can be a long ways away. For years, increased Medicare reimbursements have helped buttress these ambulance services and keep costs down for patients — yet they expired earlier this year,” Gluesenkamp Perez stated in the release. “Your ZIP code shouldn’t be the difference between life and death when facing a medical emergency — so this bipartisan bill will extend vital Medicare ambulance reimbursements that help keep rural ambulance service afloat.”
Additionally, Gluesenkamp Perez recently introduced the bipartisan PARA-EMT Act to tackle EMS staffing shortages and streamline veteran hiring.
Last year, Gluesenkamp Perez was recognized by the American Ambulance Association as a 2024 Legislator of the Year for her commitment to addressing critical workforce shortages facing emergency medical services, according to the release.
The congresswoman also secured $963,000 for Skamania County to upgrade EMS communications systems, according to the release.
