Bill Break: Push for State EMS Commissioner

Rep. Marty Causer, a Republican who represents Potter, McKean, and parts of Cameron county, spoke about his HB1491 on Bill Break this week.
If passed, the legislation would create an Office of EMS Commissioner in Pennsylvania. This would allow an EMS professional to be part of the governor’s executive cabinet. Pennsylvania has a state fire commissioner and a state police commissioner, but the current office of EMS is within the Health Department.
Causer says that if an EMS professional was at the executive level, it would give the industry more direct access to the governor and the general assembly to talk about issues and feedback from the industry.
Pennsylvania’s EMS industry is a semi-private, semi-public service that is facing continued workforce shortages and financial crisis. Many EMS agencies rely on volunteers and payments from insurance to cover their costs.
The industry has become more regulated in recent years, which has put burdens on organizations that have no good way to pay for the expenses of meeting those regulations.
INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT
KARA JEFFERS, STATE GOVERNMENT REPORTER: