Ambulance services are not an essential service in Iowa, but that may change this legislative session. State Senator Kevin Kinney tells KCII News that he’s working to make emergency medical services, EMS, an essential service, “I’ve been working with the House Democrats along with the Republican Senators and trying to establish a means for which EMS can be established and can be classified as an essential service here in Iowa. And funding for EMS and ambulances, basically for the ambulance services.” Currently, counties and townships are responsible to provide law enforcement and fire departments. Kinney says if this is passed, it will give counties the ability to take it to the people to vote on if they’d like EMS as an essential service and have a mechanism to fund it through local taxes. Kinney says depending on the version of the bill that is taken up, they are looking at ways to help fund it through fines or other avenues.

This comes at a time when Washington County is looking to establish its own ambulance services because contracted providers were expensive and not local. Henry and Jefferson Counties have also recently been addressing ambulance provider options.