If someone you love falls to illness or accident today, the next few moments are quite literally the most important of their life. Getting the right care could mean quickly arresting a stroke, stopping damage to their heart or staunching bleeding or restoring an airway. Those minutes are often the difference between life and death, quick discharge vs years of disability.

There is some good news. Mississippi is one of the nation’s leaders in bringing together hospitals, physicians and paramedics in ensuring patients get to the appropriate care as quickly as possible. Ambulances are high-tech emergency rooms – on wheels or in the air – and providers in our state have worked together for years to iron out treatment and destination protocols.

In a rural state – air ambulance care is crucial in cutting those hours into minutes. However, legislation pending in the United States Senate may unintentionally threaten access to vital air transportation for rural Mississippians.

In an effort to address the very real concerns over how individuals will pay for increasingly vital but expensive air ambulance services, our policy makers in Washington are considering legislation that will hand insurance companies all of the decision-making power in setting rates for those flights.

That’s because some patients have been shocked to see the cost for those flights, and because the insurance industry has been unwilling to sit down at the table with the air ambulance industry to set a reasonable reimbursement schedule.

Patients are caught in the middle.

But we have an opportunity to come together and address this issue. As our federal legislators head back to Washington after Labor Day, the fall represents an important opportunity to get Congress moving again. With an off-year from elections, we need to urge our members of Congress to use this window to focus on the issues that matter most to Mississippi and other rural states.

The current trends in our state and across the nation will soon result in rural Americans having even fewer options when it comes to health care, especially in critical circumstances. Air ambulances are the last lifeline available for many communities. The Mississippi Association of Air Medical Providers is proud of our work to ensure every Mississippian has access to the care they need, particularly in the most dire circumstances.

We urge Congress to fairly address the issue of insurance payments for these life-saving flights.

Unfortunately, the current proposal in the U.S. Senate directly threatens rural Americans’ access to emergency health services. The Lower Health Care Costs Act of 2019 misses the mark on this vital issue, and we need to find a more balanced solution. The current proposal implements a rate-setting methodology that gives insurers little to no incentive to negotiate in-network agreements with air ambulance providers. If passed into law, emergency transportation companies would receive inadequate reimbursements, prompting air ambulance bases to close across the country. This, combined with rural hospital closures, would strand rural Americans when they need care most – stroke, trauma, etc.

We appreciate Senator Wicker’s leadership in Washington and encourage him to continue working with his colleagues to find a balanced approach to solving this issue. We need to protect patients from these bills while keeping emergency, life-saving services readily available.

With the countless challenges facing rural communities, Congress should take the care needed when debating this crucial issue and settle on a solution that supports all Americans.

Mark Galtelli is president of the MS Association of Air Medical Providers.