|
|
"Let's not tatter our state's safety net," said the Emergency Medical Services Association of Colorado in announcing they oppose Amendments 60 and 61, and Proposition 101. The association of nearly 4,000 individuals and 69 emergency medical services across Colorado, says, "it finds fault with critical portions of each initiative. We believe provisions of Amendment 60, Amendment 61 and Proposition 101—together or singly—will cripple our ability to deliver emergency care now to citizens and visitors who are traumatically injured or suffer a medical emergency, at work and at play; and severely ob- struct our ability to meet our future service needs."
EMSAC's position is based entirely upon how the measures would affect prehospital emergency medical services— services delivered by EMTs and paramedics in ambulances.
Provisions in Amendment 60 would require local taxpayer-owned ambulance services to pay property taxes, necessi- tating an ambulance-fee -rate increase. This effectively taxes residents twice by paying taxes on property financed with taxes.
Under Amendment 61, the debt limit for ambulance districts', hospital districts' and fire protection districts' borrowing would drop by 80%. Borrowing, such as for construction of an ambulance station and training facilities, or a fire station, could no longer be financed for 20-30 years, but would limited to ten years. This forces current residents to pay for long-term improvements before future residents arrive and begin to pay their share. Shorter-term bonds for large projects could raise interest costs.
Proposition 101 would eliminate, or catastrophically cut, the $2 fee paid on motor vehicle registrations that is dedi- cated to emergency medical services statewide. If eliminated, Colorado would loose a statewide EMS grant program that helps protect residents when they travel anywhere in the state, by supporting ambulance services around Colorado with equipment and training. It could also eliminate the entire State office that certifies EMTs and paramed- ics, licenses air ambulance services such as Flight for Life and AirLife, regulates EMS training and continuing education, oversees trauma centers and approves waivers from medical protocols for critical advanced procedures performed in ambulances.
These provisions of the three initiatives would affect three-quarters of the ambulance services in Colorado. Last year, those 152 ambulance services responded to more than 272,000 calls. Two-thirds of them already rely on volunteers to care for emergency patients, because they cannot afford enough paid staff.
On average, Colorado ambulance services only collect 38% of what they bill for service. Medicare and Medicaid already pay substantially less than the cost of an ambulance call. Colorado's ambulance services are already in "serious condition." While money doesn't grow on trees and government services have their limits, voters should not snip more holes in Colorado's emergency medical safety net. For some of our patients, an ambulance and hospital emergency department are the only medical care they get.
About the Emergency Medical Services Association of Colorado
EMS is a critical component of our nation's and communities' safety net, proudly serving alongside rescue, fire and law enforcement professionals. The Emergency Medical Services Association of Colorado is a profes-sional association of paramedic-, intermediate- and basic- level emergency medical technicians and EMS first responders, physicians and nurses who treat victims of traumatic injury and medical emergencies; and EMS agencies, administrators, dispatchers, researchers and educators. EMSAC's 3,200 members work or volunteer for ambulance services, air-medical services, fire departments, hospitals and clinics, search and rescue teams, ski patrols, military medical or rescue units and medical training institutions. For more information about EMSAC, please visit http://www.emsac.org
|
