Madison – Today, the Governor signed two bills written by Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green) and Rep. Tony Kurtz (R-Wonewoc) into law. Act 35 and Act 36 will give EMS departments additional tools to address recruitment and retention challenges.
“I am pleased that the Governor swiftly signed our two EMS bills into law,” Sen. Marklein said. “These ideas, brought to me by local EMS departments, will increase access to training, provide tools for recruitment, and support innovation.”
“Having these two bipartisan bills signed into law will help provide much need relief and flexibility for EMS providers across Wisconsin,” said Rep. Kurtz. “I’m proud of the progress we continue to make towards addressing the issues our first responders are facing with recruitment and funding. There is no silver bullet to solve these issues, but every step in the right direction, matters.”
Act 35 creates a tuition reimbursement program for individuals who complete initial EMS education through WTCS and receive a license from the Department of Health Services, reducing financial barriers to entry. It also creates a grant program to help WTCS cover EMS class costs to ensure that they can continue to teach classes, even if that class is not completely full.
Additionally, this legislation creates a Live 911 Pilot Program. Live 911 is a new technology that allows dispatchers to send a link via text message to a caller to connect video. This allows the dispatcher to see exactly what is going on to improve emergency response.
Act 36 increases the amount that EMS departments can bill the state’s Medicaid program for “treatment in place” calls in which they respond to a call, but do not transport the patient to the hospital.
Act 36 also requires an annual report be published with changes to the state and national EMS scope of practice and how these changes may impact training hours. This will help publicize seemingly small changes that will have a huge impact on the number of training hours EMS personnel must complete and make sure only items which are actually needed are added to the scope of practice.
