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Advocacy in Action

Ask Your U.S. Representative to Co-sponsor H.R. 882, the "Access to Emergency Medical Services Act of 2007"


Preserve Access to Live-Saving Emergency Medical Care

In June 2006, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released three landmark reports on the "Future of Emergency Care in the United States Health System" detailing the challenges and concerns this nation faces in maintaining access to emergency medical services. As articulated in the IOM reports, the nation's emergency medical system as a whole is overburdened, underfunded and highly fragmented. As a result, ambulances are turned away from emergency departments - once every minute on average - and patients in many areas may wait hours or even days for hospital beds. Moreover, the system is ill-prepared to handle surges from disasters, such as hurricanes, bombings or disease outbreaks.

Recognizing the important role of emergency medicine and trauma care in this country and acknowledging the critical problems patients face when these services are not readily available, HR 882, the " Access to Emergency Medical Services Act of 2007" was introduced on February 7, 2007 in the U.S. House of Representatives by Reps. Bart Gordon (D-TN) and Pete Sessions (R-TX).

This legislation: (1) creates a commission that will examine factors, such as emergency department crowding, the availability of on-call specialists and medical liability issues, which affect the delivery of emergency medical services; 2) authorizes an additional payment through Medicare to all physicians who provide EMTALA-related care, including on-call specialists whose services are needed to stabilize the patients; (3) requires hospitals to report to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) the amount of time admitted patients are being held or "boarded" in the emergency department while they wait for inpatient beds to become available. If the data collected justifies the development of a quality measure to ensure improved patient care, HHS would work with all affected parties to develop a hospital boarding measure.

Please take action today by contacting your U.S. Representatives. Our patients can't wait any longer for Congress to act!

For a complete list of co-sponsors, please go to the Co-Sponsor List on the ACEP Website.