By Stephen Smoot
In recent years, emergency medical services has operated in crisis mode in many parts of West Virginia. As costs of operation climb and those willing to volunteer or work for paid services declines, the crunch has forced the closure of multiple agencies.
A West Virginia State Legislature act created an EMS salary enhancement fund that boosted support for services in 2024, but did not receive funding through 2025. Pendleton County’s Commission stepped in to serve as a backstop for that year with no guarantee that it could continue support past that point.
Bills passed this session, and highlighted by the WV EMS Coalition on their Facebook page, included a permanent state funding mechanism to support local EMS.
House Bill 5168 created an all county EMS fund. It will take $12 million from lottery funds, with $1 million going toward mental health services for EMS personnel and the remainder divided amongst counties by population. West Virginia Public Broadcasting quoted Delegate Rolland Jennings (R-Preston), who has battled for dedicated permanent funding for years.
He referred to West Virginia Secretary of State’s, Kris Warner’s, recent car accident in Pendleton County, saying “Ask our secretary of state about that . . . he was upside down in his seatbelt and it took 12 minutes for them to get there and get him down, take care of him.”
All but four delegates voted for the bill’s passage.
A separate fund will be divided among counties that have a levy or fee that supports local services. The all county fund will go to those as well.
In a recent Pendleton County Commission meeting Mike Alt, Pendleton County Emergency Rescue training officer, noted that the bill had passed and shared, “We should get money after July 1, but we don’t know how much.”
He added that some counties in the state have passed minimal levies on their taxpaying population, for example, $1 for each residence and $5 for each business. This meets the letter of the law, if not exactly the spirit of encouraging local communities to vote to support local services.
Carl Hevener, Pendleton County Commission president, stated his disappointment that only counties that charged fees or levies to taxpayers received help. Pendleton County took on the entire responsibility of the state’s salary enhancement fund for 2025 to maintain participation and improved call response times.
“There is no reward for us as a county doing our due diligence,” he pointed out, adding that others received extra by “going through a loophole.”
The health and well-being of EMS personnel also came under focus. House Bill 5086 provides legal protection for privileged communication between a staff member providing peer support and the individual seeking help. Also, EMS workers partially disabled on the job may now have access to benefits for that. Previously, only those with total disability could apply for said benefits. This came in Senate Bill 977.
One of the bills established enhanced conditions of safety for first responders, including EMS. Senate Bill 4 established “crimes against the public justice.” The Minneapolis riots against immigration enforcement saw situations in which aggressive bystanders interfered with officials performing their lawful duties. Senator Mike Oliverio (R-Monongalia) sponsored the bill that mandates a 25-foot buffer between civilian bystanders and any first responders including police, fire, and EMS.
Senate Bill 645 addressed an issue of “surprise billing” that confronted ambulance customers previously. It forbids ground ambulance service providers from billing patients beyond what their health insurance plan covers. Patients can only be billed for customary expenses, such as deductibles, copayments, or coinsurance.
