DENVER — Emergency medical services are now officially recognized as an essential service in Colorado under a law that took effect Aug. 12.
Gov. Jared Polis signed House Bill 26-1238 on May 5. The law designates EMS — including ground and air ambulance services — as an essential part of the state’s healthcare infrastructure.
The law recognizes the role EMS providers play in connecting prehospital, interfacility and community-based care. It also emphasizes the importance of timely out-of-hospital medical care in rural and frontier communities, where hospitals and other healthcare resources may be limited.
Under the law, EMS providers responding on duty or as volunteers are considered essential service providers regardless of where they are operating. The designation applies to both emergency and non-emergency ambulance services.
The law states that EMS providers are expected to respond during declared disasters, closures, crises and emergencies. Providers in active service are also authorized to travel on Colorado roads and highways without unnecessary obstruction.
However, the law does not create a duty for EMS providers to respond while off duty. It specifically states that providers are not obligated to respond to a medical emergency or deliver emergency medical services when they are not working.
HB 26-1238 also adds definitions for emergency ambulance services, non-emergency ambulance services and out-of-hospital services. The expanded definition of a prehospital setting now includes situations in which providers deliver out-of-hospital care under medical direction.
The measure passed both chambers of the Colorado General Assembly without opposition. The House approved it 63-0, while the Senate passed it 34-0.
Despite the essential-service designation, the law does not include new funding or require a state appropriation. A legislative fiscal analysis found that the measure would create only a minimal workload for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment as it updates EMS standards and provider scopes of practice.
The department is expected to complete those changes using existing resources.
