Do you work in EMS? Are you a qualified EMR, EMT, EMT-I, Paramedic, Critical Care Transport Nurse, Flight Nurse, Critical Care Transport Paramedic, Flight Paramedic or Firefighter?
Do you feel you are being paid fairly?
Are your benefits where they should be?
Do you work for a private company who takes advantage of the patients and pads the pockets of the CEO’s and higher ups of the company while providing you with minimal pay?
Say hello to the Emergency Healthcare Pay and Benefits Act of 2024. This Act would mandate that licensed emergency healthcare providers would have better pay. This act would abolish crazy for profit operations and give money back to the people who deserve it.
This act would allow for counties, cities and small municipalities to go to their state and say raise the budget for us for payroll, benefits, training and equipment.
Are you tired of having to live paycheck to paycheck working in emergency healthcare? Do you have to work second jobs or do side hustles to make ends meet? With this policy that would not happen anymore.
Why is it that hospitals pay their nurses and doctors more, but the people who take the patients to the hospitals and keep them from perishing on the way get paid substantially less?
This policy would remove the middleman in pay. This policy would allow private companies to get money from the state they operate in to pay their employees more. This policy would also cut taxes on every hour worked over 40 hours a week in half. That way you actually earn your overtime money. Unfortunately, it is unrealistic to remove overtime taxes entirely, but your paycheck would see a substantial increase with overtime tax being 50% of what it is currently.
This policy would also allow EMS providers to receive higher disability and SS benefits for retirement. This policy would lower the cost of health insurance for any licensed EMS healthcare provider.
This policy would give EMS healthcare providers a leg up.
I think realistically this should be a policy that applies to anyone who works in healthcare that directly involves patients. Nurses, clinicians, providers, pharmacists etc. etc.
However, it has been a long time coming for EMS and Firefighters to get the pay they deserve and the benefits they deserve.
Imagine how much easier life would be if even private companies were mandated to give 40 hours of paid vacation time for every 6 months of full time employment. In other words every six months you get a full week off on top of your regular schedule.
That should be a nationally mandated policy for anyone who works in emergency medicine or fire rescue, regardless of the ownership of the department.
All in all, a policy or act such as this would give fair wages, benefits, vacation time and more to anyone who works in emergency healthcare. As that becomes reformed it can be reformed for everyone who works in healthcare.
Logistically, this could be done by budget distribution. Municipalities could find ways to distribute the budget more efficiently and cut costs safely within their areas of budget. There are ways to do so. Padding pockets of the higher ups is not the way to fix the issue.
Private agencies should have to follow and adhere to strict financial guidelines and itemized breakdowns of their finances should be submitted quarterly to the state. This prevents overspending on unnecessary expenses and gives the state regulation over things like pay, equipment, benefits and more. If private agencies were held accountable at a higher level they would function better for employees in the field.
Employees shouldn’t have to work to the bone in one of the most demanding fields there is to go home and wonder how they will afford to pay their rent or buy groceries.
EMS and Fire should also be considered essential from here on out. There should be no cutting budgets and removing EMS or Fire stations due to improper spending and budgeting. EMS and Fire should be protected at all costs.
Hopefully, enough people will stand behind this that eventually it can be turned into something valuable for healthcare workers who are working long hours and being underpaid and under appreciated.
I’m sure that someone with more political and governmental experience than I have can help make this a reality. I’m really hoping so.
Thank you.