Short on volunteer firefighters and EMTs? These bills could help

Amid funding and staffing pressures at emergency medical service agencies across Wyoming, two bills this legislative session aim to help attract more volunteers. 

The Joint Labor, Health and Social Services Committee voted nearly unanimously to sponsor two bills for this session: Senate File 3 – State employee leave for volunteer fire or volunteer EMS and Senate File 8 – Health insurance for volunteer emergency responders. 

They come at a time of mixed success for legislation intended to help rural EMS, which is wedged between low reimbursement rates, increasing costs and decreasing volunteerism.

Legislators last session narrowly passed a law allowing counties to put EMS district proposals to voters who can decide whether to fund ailing emergency services. However, interim committee lawmakers this summer voted down efforts to designate EMS as an essential service. 

Making that service "essential" would require communities to provide it and ensure that when a resident calls 911, there's someone to answer that call. But the question continually comes back to: Who's going to pay? 

Paid leave

Senate File 3 would give state employees up to 24 hours of paid time off annually when they're absent due to "service as a volunteer firefighter or volunteer emergency medical technician in the state of Wyoming."

Volunteers work long hours and sometimes need rest the next day. Staffing midday is challenging, too, according to Sublette County Unified Fire Chief and County Fire Warden Shad Cooper, who spoke at a legislative meeting in June.

When the Pinedale City Council started allowing that kind of paid time off, it immediately helped the fire department respond "during those daytime incidents where we frankly struggle to staff trucks adequately with sufficient firefighters to perform the job, and then more so to perform the job safely," Cooper said.

State employees can request 16 hours of paid leave to work with nonprofits, but it's not guaranteed. And there's been an uneven application of that time off, Cooper said. 

"Some fire departments have told me that it's never been an issue," he said in June. "But other fire chiefs I've talked to said, 'no, there's a blanket prohibition from responding as a volunteer firefighter when they're state employees, regardless of circumstance or severity of incident."

Beyond that, lawmakers and advocates said this could be a model for local governments and other employers who want to support emergency services.

Health insurance

Senate File 8 would give volunteer firefighters, EMTs and search and rescue crews access to state employees' group health insurance - though they'll likely need to pay 100% of the premium.

The bill is yet another incentive to attract more volunteers, though the manager of the state employees group insurance, Ralph Hayes, stated in September that most young, healthy people could find more affordable insurance through the federal Health Insurance Marketplace. Instead, he suggested it would likely attract older adults with more health problems.

"Let's face it, insurance is very price sensitive, so the individuals who would be attracted to enrolling in the state's plan would happen to be in the older age categories," he said. "Those of us who are over 50 - and I'm well over that - we have a tendency to use benefits more than the individuals who are less than 50."

Hayes estimated that for a $900 deductible under the state's plan - which doesn't change based on age - insuring an individual would cost about $1051 per month. Insuring a family would be about $2436. 

He had concerns about higher claims costs from older, sicker people accessing the insurance via volunteering. To address that, the committee voted to add a 90-day wait before people could access the insurance - before which, many emergency response agencies already require a physical fitness test.

To qualify for the insurance, though, volunteers would have to be Wyoming residents who respond to 25% of calls for service and attend 50% of monthly meetings. Volunteers eligible for insurance under a government-sponsored health care program would not qualify. 

There was some discussion during committee meetings about allowing fire departments and EMS agencies to help with premium costs to attract even more volunteers. While it didn't make it into the bill, that conversation could continue during the session. 

Initial versions of SF 8 focused on firefighters only. However, data showed there was a similar need for volunteers - and paid staff - across all kinds of emergency services.

About 20 transporting EMS agencies reported in a survey that they needed - or would need in the next year - 224 new staff, according to Wyoming EMS Association President Luke Sypherd. That's just half of the state's agencies. 

"Statewide, if we anticipate 448 EMTs and paramedics of various levels as the need, that is 40% of the current workforce," he said in a June meeting.

Who to watch

In a show of unity, the Joint Labor, Health and Social Services Committee unanimously voted to send SF 8 to the full Legislature. 

"I'm just excited to have unanimous votes in this committee," co-chair Dan Zwonitzer (R-Cheyenne) said at the time. 

The only lawmaker who voted against SF 3 - guaranteeing paid time off - was Rep. Ben Hornok (R-Cheyenne). He did not respond to a request for comment on his decision. 

Beyond that, there was strong support for these bills from groups like the state EMS association and firefighters. They will likely have representatives at hearings at the Legislature this year, too.

There are also a few bills specifically meant to help firefighters, including Senate File 4 – Rehiring retired firefighters-continued retirement benefits and Senate File 39 – Firefighters recruitment film. 

Wyoming's 2024 Budget Session is slated to convene Feb. 12.

WyoFile is an independent nonprofit news organization focused on Wyoming people, places and policy.