Last month, Air Methods, the owner of Mercy Air 34 in Paso Robles, announced that its last day of operation would be November 4, citing financial constraints as the reason for the cut.
Now, just weeks before their last day of operation, Congressman Jimmy Panetta told KSBY News that he is working with other representatives to ease the financial burden by proposing the "Protecting Air Ambulance Services for Americans Act."
"These types of air ambulances, how vital they are to the people, especially elderly people, is something that I was concerned with, especially when it got on my radar that Mercy Air 34 was shutting down and closing its doors," Rep. Panetta said.
When the shutdown was first announced, San Luis Obispo County EMS Division Director Ryan Rosander shared just how impactful the service has been since it first became available five years ago.
"One thousand lives have either been touched, saved or otherwise given the best opportunity to be saved," he said.
Rep. Panetta says he has been in contact with Air Methods about the struggles they are facing and that the "Protecting Air Ambulance Services for Americans Act" would stabilize reimbursement rates for air medical services to reflect the cost of providing care to people in remote areas of California’s 19th Congressional District.
"Hopefully, based on the desire to remedy this issue and ensure that our air ambulances continue to have service, especially in remote rural areas, hopefully this bill will get through the legislation process quicker and sooner rather than later," Panetta said.
He says that right now he doesn't have a timeline for when this legislation could pass, and says it's reliant on reopening the government.
