Advocating on behalf of the EMS community is core to NAEMT’s mission. NAEMT works to make sure that EMS is involved in the development of federal policies, plans and programs that impact our workforce and our communities. NAEMT advocates for laws and regulations that help ensure EMS practitioners have the funding, training, equipment, and support needed to provide excellence in patient care and maintain their mental and physical well-being. These are some of the key legislative issues that NAEMT is undertaking this year.

2025 Requests to Congress 

Please support H.R. 2538, the Comprehensive Alternative Response for Emergencies (CARE) Act, introduced by Reps. Mike Carey (R-OH) and Lloyd Doggett (D-TX). This bill would create a pilot program to test and evaluate the Treatment In Place (TIP) model under the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI). Senate companion legislation will be introduced in the near future.

• NAEMT Case for TIP 2025 (background information)

Please ask Congress to support the Community Paramedicine Act, soon to be introduced by Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) and others. This bill would create a grant program under the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to support Mobile Integrated Healthcare (MIH) Community Paramedicine (CP) programs. Eligible applicants in rural and underserved communities could receive grants to: 

• Hire community paramedicine personnel; 
• Purchase necessary equipment, including personal protective equipment, uniforms, medical supplies, and vehicles; 
• Pay for certification courses; and 
• Conduct public outreach and education on the patient-centered outcomes that can be achieved through community paramedicine. 

• MIH Umbrella (background information)

Communities across the nation rely on 24/7/365 availability of EMS for the sick, injured, elderly, and disabled and Medicaid is either the largest or second largest payer for the majority of ambulance services, especially in rural and underserved communities. 

• Please ask Congress to remember that EMS receives significant funding from the Medicaid program.  As they complete Budget Reconciliation this summer, members of Congress must not make Medicaid changes that reduce the availability of ambulance service throughout the country. EMS agencies are already struggling with below cost Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement that has resulted in ambulance deserts and delays in lifesaving care.

The Supporting and Improving Rural EMS Needs (SIREN) Act created a grant program specifically for rural public and non-profit EMS agencies and fire departments to purchase equipment, provide training, and meet other critical needs, called the Rural EMS Training and Equipment Assistance (REMSTEA) grant program. 

• Please ask Congress to include $33 million in the FY2026 budget for SIREN Act grants to provide much needed resources to already strained EMS agencies working to provide life-saving medical care to the patients in their communities. 

EMS is facing crippling staffing challenges that threaten the availability of critical emergency healthcare services. The shortage of EMTs and Paramedics is resulting in longer 9-1-1 response times and delays in interfacility transfers, putting patients who need urgent health care at unacceptable risk.  

• Please ask Congress to cosponsor H.R. 2220, the Preserve Access to Rapid Ambulance Medical Treatment (PARA-EMT) Act, introduced by Reps. Brad Finstad (R-MN) and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA), which would help address the Paramedic and EMT shortage. The bill would:
• Provide $50 million to the Office of the Assistance Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) for grants open to all ambulance service providers to fund Paramedic and EMT recruitment and training.
• Reduce barriers that prevent U.S. military veterans from becoming certified as civilianParamedics and EMTs.
• Request that the Secretary of Labor (in coordination with the HHS Secretary) conduct a study on the current and projected EMS workforce shortage and report their findings.

The EMS Caucus helps Congress understand EMS issues and promotes policies that help EMS practitioners provide life-saving medical care in emergencies, cost-saving care management in non-emergent or emergent situations, and disaster response at any time. 

• Please ask U.S. House Representatives to join the EMS Caucus.