This year’s Iowa legislative session was shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and as a result, some bills did not make it to a vote. House File 2434, otherwise known as the EMS Bill, was a push to make EMS services, like ambulances, an essential service in Iowa. It would have eliminated the provision that says voters must continue to approve EMS as an essential service every five years locally. While this bill received massive support in the House, the bill did not move to the floor in the Senate due to a lack of time in the session. Representative Joe Michell is saddened to see this bill fall through the cracks this year, “I was disappointed that our EMS policy bill did not go through the Senate. The House passed the EMS bill 94-1 which would have allowed counties to declare EMS as an essential service, which it should be. So that failed at the Senate, it failed to break through to the floor. It was one of those things where we got done with session, and I had people from the hospital board message me about it. I thought for sure it was going through because the House voted 94-1 on it. It kind of just mixed up with everything at the end. Those last few days of session are chaotic, but we’ll have to work on it next year.” This bill is part of a package aiming to increase the state funds given to EMS services in all 99 counties in Iowa. The Iowa Department of Human Services provides some funding for EMS services for the state. In 2019, $300,000 was funded for EMS services, a little more than $3,000 per county.