'Too Many Deaths Too Often': Rep. Terri Sewell Seeks to Safeguard Rural Ambulance Services

Representative Terri Sewell has proposed the Protecting Access to Ground Ambulance Medical Services Act after facing significant healthcare issues in rural areas of Central Alabama over several years.

In 2022, the closure of the Pickens County Medical Center left around 20,000 inhabitants of the area with no local access to healthcare facilities. As a result, these individuals now must journey up to 45 minutes each way for urgent medical attention at nearby hospitals located either in Tuscaloosa or across into Mississippi.

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For most of that period, there has only been one ambulance serving the whole county, which is the bare legal requirement. Although the Pickens County Ambulance Service possesses additional ambulances, the challenge lies in funding their operation and staffing.

Emergency medical services come with high costs, and frequently, individuals living in remote regions bear the brunt of this issue," Sewell stated. "Too many fatalities have occurred due to delayed response times for ambulances or the inability to transport patients via air to the nearest healthcare facility.

Sewell is right. The lack of medical care has had fatal consequences in Pickens County.

Earlier this Christmas, a young man who was raising two small children as a single dad passed away while awaiting an ambulance from Tuscaloosa in Pickens County. This is entirely unacceptable," she stated. "Every life matters, and we aim to ensure that people in rural areas receive the adequate ambulance services they are entitled to.

To achieve this, Sewell proposed a new bill aimed at extending the Medicare surcharge rates scheduled to end in September. Should the legislation be approved, ambulance services operating in cities would maintain their current 2% additional fee, whereas those serving remote regions would keep receiving a 3% boost, thus encouraging support for emergency medical providers in less populated areas.

When medical emergencies occur, we must be assured that our emergency responders have the necessary tools to provide critical life-saving assistance," Sewell stated. "However, insufficient Medicare payment rates are placing undue pressure on ambulance services in the more disadvantaged areas. This issue is especially dire in rural regions such as those I serve. The proposed legislation aims to modify Medicare’s reimbursement policies to ensure essential ambulance services remain readily available and accessible to every American citizen.

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Sewell emphasized that this matter holds significance for her due to the frightening nature of medical emergencies in rural regions, an ordeal her family has unfortunately been through firsthand.

"She shared that her father had survived strokes nine times before passing away five years ago. After suffering a severe stroke, he was fortunately airlifted from Selma to UAB Hospital, which extended his life by ten more years. My family and I understand firsthand the difficulties faced due to insufficient and unreliable emergency medical transportation. In our nation, everyone deserves accessible and high-quality healthcare, particularly during critical moments.”

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