By Riley McCoy
The Register-Herald
BECKLEY, W.Va. — For rural ambulance providers, the distance between a 911 call and a hospital can be measured in miles, money and minutes.
Those challenges framed Tuesday’s Jan-Care ceremony recognizing U.S. Rep. Carol Miller, R- W.Va., as one of the American Ambulance Association’s three annual Person of the Year recipients.
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Jan-Care officials said the national award reflects Miller’s work on ambulance reimbursement, treatment-in-place policies and rural health access, issues they said directly affect providers serving rural West Virginia. Jan-Care, which serves 11 counties and handles up to 100,000 calls a year, hosted the presentation through its connection to the association and its work on the same EMS issues, Jan-Care CEO Todd Cornett said.
“On behalf particularly, 500 employees of Jan-Care, we want to thank her,” Cornett said. “She has been such a blessing not just to Jan-Care, but to EMS in the state of West Virginia. And truthfully, the reason we’re here today is because she’s been such a blessing to EMS across our nation.”
The American Ambulance Association selects three members of Congress each year for its Person of the Year recognition. Last year, the association awarded Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., as its person of the year and one of only two West Virginians selected for national recognition, according to organizers.
Cornett explained how this year, Miller was selected because of her work on EMS reimbursement and policy changes that allow ambulance providers to be paid for treating some patients where they are, instead of transporting every patient to a hospital.
“She was one of the key components on helping us move treatment in place, with payment methodology in place,” Cornett said. “It just helps so much because she has such a commonsense approach to everything she does.”
Miller said the work grew from listening to ambulance providers and understanding rural West Virginia, where emergency care often involves long drives through mountainous areas and limited access to nearby hospitals.
“If Granny falls out of bed, you always call 911, and then they have to come out,” Miller said. “It could be such an easy thing to treat her where she is, as opposed to having to put her in an ambulance and drive her 45 minutes to the nearest hospital in order for you all to get paid.”
Miller said she has tried to address specific problems through smaller legislative fixes, including the PEAKS Act, which she described as a mileage reimbursement measure adjusted for topography, which would includes West Virginia’s mountainous roads.
“It’s the mileage to the hospital, and it’s adjusted for topographical areas,” Miller said. “It makes a huge difference, because it’s harder to get to our hospitals.”
Miller said the rural health issues behind the award are part of a broader affordability concern for West Virginians, especially older residents and those on fixed incomes.
“We are very concerned about keeping people’s budgets under control,” Miller said. “And as I’ve mentioned, we have an older population, and it’s a little harder on them.”
Miller also cited broader tax work, including energy tax credits and a tax package in the “one big, beautiful bill,” which she said took two years of work. She also pointed to the 1099-K reporting threshold, which she said had dropped to $600 after previously being $20,000.
“Why pay taxes on something you’ve already paid taxes?” Miller said. “There’s just so many ways they try to tax you. And I just wanted to raise it back to what would be normal.”
Jan-Care officials said that is why the reimbursement debate matters beyond one company — when rural residents call 911, the ambulance still has to come despite how far the road runs.
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