Each year, the NAEMT Board of Directors identifies legislative priorities that our association will actively support throughout the year. Our 2016 legislative priorities were determined after careful examine of all of the pending federal legislation that impacts EMS, and in consultation with many members active in our advocacy efforts and our EMS organizational partners.
 
The following bills were selected as 2016 NAEMT legislative priorities:

H.R. 4365 - Protecting Patient Access to Emergency Medications Act of 2016 - Pending federal regulations, which put added restrictions on controlled substances, threaten the ability of EMS personnel to treat pain and seizures. This bill will allow EMS agencies to continue using standing orders from medical directors to administer medications to treat these conditions.

H.R. 1818 / S. 453 - Veteran Emergency Medical Technician Support Act of 2015 -Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Department of Health and Human Services to establish a demonstration program for states with a shortage of emergency medical technicians (EMTs) to streamline state requirements and procedures to assist veterans who completed military EMT training to meet state EMT certification, licensure, and other requirements.
 
H.R. 2366 - Field EMS Bill - The Field EMS Modernization and Innovation Act will modernize our Emergency Medical Services System from a 20th century antiquated model based on transport to an innovative, patient-centered, efficient 21st century system. To improve Field EMS delivery in the United States, "value" must be the cornerstone of a re-engineered system to improve quality, outcomes and coordination and lower costs.

H.R. 2274  - To authorize the National Emergency Medical Services Memorial Foundation to establish a commemorative work in the District of Columbia - A new bill on NAEMT's priority list, the proposed legislation seeks Congressional approval to establish a National EMS Memorial to honor EMS practitioners killed in the line of duty. The federal government will not pay for building the memorial - funds will come from donations or other private sponsorships. But Congress must approve the establishment of any new memorials on federal land.
 
Please contact your members of Congress to ask for their cosponsorship of these bills.

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These legislative priorities will be our Requests to Congress at this year's EMS On The Hill Day, April 19-20. 

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Thank you for getting involved!