H.R. 3791: EMS Counts Act (119th Congress) Bill Summary

The EMS Counts Act, introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, aims to update how emergency medical services (EMS) practitioners are classified and counted in the workforce. Here's a breakdown of what the bill proposes:

Purpose of the Bill

The primary objective of this bill is to ensure that the classification system used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) accurately reflects the number of EMS practitioners in the United States. This includes accounting for various roles within EMS, such as:

Paramedics
Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs)
Dual-role firefighters/EMTs
Firefighter/paramedics
Other volunteer personnel serving in these roles

Importance of Accurate Counting

The bill recognizes that EMS personnel play a critical role in responding to emergencies. They are involved in numerous incidents every year, such as:

Strokes
Heart attacks
Cardiac arrests
Trauma cases

Currently, the BLS does not accurately capture all EMS roles, especially those of dual-role firefighter/EMTs and firefighter/paramedics. This lack of accurate data can hinder government agencies' ability to assess needs in EMS and inform policy decisions related to public health emergency preparedness, disaster response, and more.

Action Required by the Secretary of Labor

The bill mandates that within 120 days of its enactment, the Secretary of Labor must revise the classification system to include:

Firefighters
Firefighter/EMTs
Firefighter/Paramedics
Other Firefighters

This change would formally recognize these roles as part of the EMS workforce.

Reporting Requirements

Additionally, the bill requires the Secretary of Labor to submit a report to Congress within 270 days after the bill is enacted. This report must detail:

The actions taken in 2015 to improve the definition of Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics to separately account for their numbers.
The implementation of the revisions mentioned in Section 3 of the bill.

Conclusion

This bill seeks to enhance the understanding of the EMS workforce through better data collection, ultimately supporting more informed decisions regarding emergency services and public health preparedness.