Committee advances bill to designate EMS an essential health service

Representative Adrienne Johnson introduced House Bill 12‑38 to designate emergency medical services — including ambulance and air ambulance services, EMTs and paramedics — as essential to protect public health and safety. “This bill is not symbolic. It is long overdue,” Johnson said, urging committee members to adopt the change.

The bill’s sponsors and a panel of first responders said the change aligns statute with operational reality and supports rural systems where EMS is often the only immediate clinical care. “When Coloradans call 911 for any medical issue such as a heart attack, stroke, overdose, EMS is the front door of care,” Representative Lukens said. Timothy Deanstein, who identified himself as chief of EMS at the transcript‑listed regional health service district, testified that EMS delivers medical assessment, stabilization and time‑sensitive treatment outside traditional clinical settings and that statutory recognition would help align policy, reimbursement and regulatory structures with practice. “This clarification is not symbolic. It is structural,” Deanstein said.

Nikaya Nudell, a licensed paramedic appearing for EMS professional organizations, stressed the designation does not change scope of practice or create new mandates but instead provides a statutory foundation for planning and sustainability. “This is not a new government program. It is a governance correction that aligns our law with the operational reality communities already depend on,” Nudell said.

Witnesses from the Special District Association, the EMS Association of Colorado, a county commissioner and CommonSpirit Health described workforce and funding pressures, particularly in rural areas with long transport times and limited volunteer pools. Committee members asked whether smaller or volunteer agencies would be required to upgrade equipment or radio systems to integrate with state systems; witnesses and a CDPHE medical director responded that ground ambulance licensing and minimum standards already exist and that grants and registration support are available to help agencies meet state requirements. Witnesses also said that ambulances participating in the 9‑1‑1 system already use the state radio system.

Sponsors offered two technical amendments after raising Department of Public Safety concerns. Amendment L005 removed a department‑flagged section and passed without objection; L006 struck language that might have been interpreted to require costly changes to statewide communications infrastructure and also passed. Representative Johnson moved the bill as amended to the Committee of the Whole; Vice Chair Leader seconded and the committee advanced the bill on a unanimous roll call (recorded in the transcript as 13‑0).

The bill language clarifies that on‑duty EMS may travel to perform work during declared disasters or prescribed closures, but it also includes a safeguard specifying that off‑duty EMS providers are not required to respond. The committee record shows sponsors emphasized the change is intended to improve coordination — not to expand provider scope or impose new licensing obligations.

The bill next goes to the Committee of the Whole for further consideration.