Senator Steven Oroho (R-26) released the following statement after his legislation, S-2223, was approved today by the Senate Health, Human Services, and Senior Citizens Committee:
Legislation sponsored by Sen. Steven Oroho that would help address the EMT shortage was approved today by the Senate Health, Human Services, and Senior Citizens Committee. (Pixabay)
“Throughout New Jersey, EMS and rescue squads are having difficulty recruiting volunteers and retaining staff. This shortage has even led to crew members working double shifts, which is taking a significant toll on the mental and physical health of our EMTs,” said Oroho. “Due to these conditions, volunteer squads have been forced to start billing patients to cover insurance fees and operating costs. Unfortunately, this makes the company providing the training ineligible for training reimbursement. To address this issue, my bill would shift the focus for reimbursement—from requiring the EMS squad to be all volunteer, to ensuring the EMTs who are trained work as volunteers in some capacity.”
S-2223 would:
- Permit more entities that provide training to EMT squads to receive reimbursement from the “Emergency Medical Technician Training Fund.”
- Allow any entity to be eligible for reimbursement from the fund, regardless of whether the entity charges for the provision of basic life support services.
- Require that all reimbursements from the fund be promptly paid upon receipt of a qualifying application.
You can view the full bill here.
For further comment or background from Sen. Oroho, please contact Jonathan Azzara in the SRO communications department.