Trauma & EMS
Contact: Kristin McDonald, kmcdonald@facs.org
Health Care Safety Net Enhancement Act (H.R. 157)
The Health Care Safety Net Enhancement Act, sponsored by Rep. Pete Sessions (T-TX), would provide Public Health Service Act liability protections for physicians who provide care mandated by the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA). Under EMTALA, a physician must provide stabilizing care to a patient who presents at a hospital emergency department, regardless of ability to pay. The problem is notably severe for surgeons who provide complex, high-risk surgical care to severely injured patients. The poor likelihood of reimbursement and high liability risk are broadly acknowledged to be key contributors to the growing shortage of specialists participating in emergency on-call panels.
H.R. 157 language was included as an amendment, sponsored by Rep. Charlie Dent (R-PA) and Representative Sessions, to H.R. 5, the Protecting Access to Healthcare Act. Last month, the House passed H.R. 5, which among other provisions, calls for repealing the Independent Payment Advisory Board and seeks to institute medical tort reform across the country. DAHP staff will continue to advocate for this important legislation.ACS Supports Funding for National Emergency (NEMSIS) Database
The College, along with several other medical organizations, sent a letter to the Senate and House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development requesting $2.013 million to be included in the Subcommittee’s fiscal year (FY) 2013 appropriations bill. In 2001, the National Association of State EMS Directors joined with its federal partners at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Health Resources and Services Administration to develop a national repository for EMS data known as the NEMSIS database. A comprehensive EMS system is critical to ensuring that those most in need have access to quality health care. CLICK HERE to view the letter.
Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC)
The College has long been supportive of funding for the Emergency Medical Services for Children program (EMSC). This year, the College signed on to a letter to House and Senate appropriators asking them to fund the EMSC program at the authorized level of $28,940,625. Last year the EMSC program received level funding of $21 million, a victory in this fiscal environment.
View this year’s coalition sign-on letter (60K PDF)
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) (P.L. 111-148) authorized a total of $224 million in funding for trauma and emergency medical services programs and activities. The provisions ultimately included in the ACA were derived from legislation that received strong bipartisan support over many years. Representatives Michael Burgess, M.D. (R-TX) and Gene Green (D-TX) circulated a sign-on letter in support of funding for those programs for FY2013.
- Trauma Care Center Grants. The ACA authorizes $100 million per year for a program of federal grants to trauma centers to allow them operating funds to maintain their core missions, to compensate them for losses from uncompensated care, and to provide emergency awards to centers at risk of closure.
- Trauma Service Availability Grants. The ACA authorizes an additional $100 million per year for Trauma Service Availability Grants that would be channeled through the States and used for a number of activities to address shortfalls in trauma services and improve access to and the availability of these essential life-saving services.
- Trauma Care Systems Planning Grants. The ACA reauthorizes the Trauma Care Systems Planning grants to support state development of trauma systems.
- Regionalization of Emergency Care Systems. The ACA authorizes funding for no fewer than four multi-year pilot projects to design, implement and evaluate innovative models of regionalized emergency care systems.
In total, 19 members of the House signed on in support of the trauma programs.
View a final copy of the House sign-on letter (1730K PDF)
Revised May 9, 2012