Wyoming EMS workers and residents need a legislative lifeline to stay alive
Rural areas across the country are grappling with strained Emergency Medical Services (EMS), and Wyoming is no exception.
Seventeen of the Cowboy State’s 23 counties have fewer than six people per square mile, which has long posed challenges for rural healthcare. While EMS in Wyoming has always been a challenge, some medical providers worry that the landscape of care is getting worse.
“We’re holding on because people are willing to sacrifice immense amounts to make it happen,” said Luke Sypherd, president of the Wyoming Emergency Medical Services Association. “You have people who are working terrible hours, having injuries from lifting very heavy patients, having emotional and mental trauma that most of the world can’t fathom.”
Sypherd continued to say that he’s worried about the unsustainable physical and psychological strain on Wyoming EMS workers.
“You won’t see people going on strike and not showing up to calls, because that’s not the type of people that they are,” Sypherd said. “We continue to see that, yes, calls are answered, but it’s like the straw that breaks the camel’s back.”
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According to a 2023 Wyoming Legislative Service Office report, only eight states qualify EMS as an essential service, and nine states provide direct funding to EMS programs—Wyoming does neither. EMS in most Wyoming counties competes with other services, such as firefighters and police, for local funding.
Aside from designating EMS as an essential service, the report offered other potential models for Wyoming moving forward. This includes appropriating state general funds toward EMS services, done by states such as New Mexico and Delaware, or having states make a special supplemental for fund EMS services, which is done by six states, including Colorado and Idaho.
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Jen Davis, Senior Policy Advisor at the Wyoming Governor’s office, says it is crucial for Wyoming and states around the country to find ways to stabilize EMS funding.
“How do we ensure that this is sustainable across the nation in our urban and our rural areas? And making sure that we are actually paying for a quality service that all of us as citizens of the US have come to expect?” Davis said.
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The reimbursement structure for EMS poses a significant challenge, as it only applies when patients are transported. Lengthy house visits, which can involve over half an hour of care, do not qualify for reimbursement from insurance companies. Recent statistics show that more than a third of all EMS visits in Wyoming (35%) are not reimbursed.
“Very often, they get called to help somebody get up off of the floor, and there isn’t a transport. That’s not paid for, but yet it’s a service we’ve all come to expect,” Davis said.
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While it’s understood that there’s no easy solution, Sypherd and others in the field are frustrated by public officials’ lack of initiative.
“We are having a very difficult time with the legislature that this is an absolute necessity. I hear all the time, at every level of government, local, city, county and state, that we can’t afford it. That is a flat-out lie. We choose not to afford it,” Sypherd said.
Cy Neff reports on Wyoming politics for USA Today. You can reach him at cneff@usatoday.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @CyNeffNews
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Wyoming EMS workers ask lawmakers to fund all transport calls
