To turn these legislative priorities into real-world change, EMS professionals need to act as “subject matter experts” for their local representatives. Legislators often have to vote on hundreds of bills they don’t fully understand; your job is to make sure they understand these five.

Here is the TASA 2026 Member Action Plan.

🛠 Step 1: Identify & Prepare

Before reaching out, you should know exactly who you are talking to and what those legislators care about.

• Find Your Legislators: Use the Tennessee General Assembly Find My Legislator tool to send to each of your legislators. You have one Senator and one Representative.

• Check the Committee List: Does your legislator sit on Health, Finance, or State & Local Government? If so, their vote is twice as important because they see the bill before it ever hits the floor.

• Print the Assets: Have the Legislator Leave Behind printed on high-quality cardstock. This is your “leave-behind”—it stays on their desk after you leave.

📞 Step 2: The Outreach

Legislators prioritize their own constituents. When you call or email, start with: “I am a constituent and an EMS professional in your district.”

• Email: Send the Constituent Letter – Protecting Emergency Medical Services we’ve drafted for you. We encourage you to dowload print and sign or use the elecetronic signature block in the PDF.

• The Phone Call: Keep it under 2 minutes.

  “I’m calling to urge Representative [Name] to support SB2536 for EMS retirement parity and SB1805 for TennCare funding. These bills directly impact the ambulance response times in our home district.”

• Local Grass Roots Advocacy Toolkit –  Use this Toolkit to advocate locally

🏛 Step 3: Visiting the Cordell Hull Building (Nashville)

If you are coming to Nashville for a “Day on the Hill,” follow these protocols to ensure you actually get seen.

Navigating the Building

The Cordell Hull State Office Building (CHB) is located at 425 Rep. John Lewis Way N.

• Security: You must enter through the main security checkpoint. Bring a valid photo ID. You will go through a metal detector and bags will be X-rayed.

• Parking: Use the Public Square Garage or the Nashville Municipal Auditorium parking.

The “Hallway Huddle”

You don’t always need a formal appointment. Many constituents can “catch” their legislator in the hallways between committee meetings.

• The 30-Second Pitch: “Hi, Representative [Name], I’m [Your Name] from [Local Service]. I just wanted to hand you this flyer on the EMS priorities. Specifically, we need your help on the TennCare funding shift to keep our local trucks running. Can we count on your support?”

• Hand over the flyer. Point to the bill numbers so they can circle them.

📝 Step 4: The Follow-Up

The “win” usually happens in the follow-up, not the first meeting.

• Thank You Note: Send a quick email or a handwritten card the day after your visit.

• Provide a “Local Data” Point: If they asked a question you couldn’t answer (e.g., “How many emergency calls did your service do last year?”), find that number and send it. This builds your 1-on-1 relationship as a trusted advisor.

🗓 Key Dates and other Tools

• Now – February 20: Awareness building during the Mid-Winter Conference.

• February 23 – March 2: “The Final Push” before Day on the Hill.

• March 3: EMS Day on the Hill. Post photos of yourself in uniform (if permitted) or with your local crew.

2026 Session Timeline

The Medicare ambulance add-on payment extension is now official. President Trump has signed the 2026 Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R. 7148) into law, securing a 23-month extension through December 31, 2027. The legislation continues the 2% urban, 3% rural, and 22.6% super-rural increases to the ambulance fee schedule, providing much-needed stability for EMS providers nationwide. Previously, the temporary add-ons had been extended through January 30, 2026, allowing Congress time to enact a longer-term solution. During this period, AAA members actively engaged with lawmakers, submitting comment letters and advocacy support to ensure EMS priorities were represented.

The Senate approved the Consolidated Appropriations Act package on January 30, and the House passed it by a narrow 217-214 vote, finalizing the 23-month extension. Although there was a brief three-day lapse in the temporary add-ons, the mandatory Medicare claims hold period of ten days ensures there should be no disruption in payments. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that this extension will provide $197 million in continued relief to ground ambulance service organizations.

The legislation also includes report language directing the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) to make addressing EMS workforce shortages a priority. H.R. 7148 primarily funds HHS and four other federal agencies through the end of FY2026, while DHS funding is extended through February 13, resolving the recent partial government shutdown.

Tennessee EMS Day on the Hill, March 3rd, 2026.  Here is the updated 2026 TASA Legislative Priorities

Shareable handouts

• TASA legislative priorities detailed handout
• TASA legislative priorities summary handout

Schedule your meetings with your legislators today. Here is a link to your legislators and bills Tennessee Legislators

Plan to meet the night prior, March 2nd at 530 pm to discuss the Legislation

Doubletree Downtown Nashville, TN

315 4th Avenue N

Nashville, TN  37219

Our Annual TASA Membership meeting will be held on Thursday, February 19th at  1145 AM, Eastern time Zone

We will be electing our EAST TN Grand

You may contact your TASA representative if you have any questions.

This will be voted on at the Annual TASA Mid Winter Conference and the results will be presented at the Annual TASA Membership meeting on Thursday, February 19th, at 1145 am, EASTERN time zone

ATTN: Tennessee Ambulance Service Providers

As you are aware, the Tennessee (TNSL) application is currently used by the internal MSLC Tennessee Management Team and TennCare to communicate and track EMS Cost and Utilization Report related events between TennCare and Providers.

Beginning February 2, 2026, the portal will transition to a Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) login process and IP addresses will no longer be required for registration or access. MFA is a security method that requires users to provide two or more verification factors to gain access to an account which adds an extra layer of protection beyond a password.

You will be receiving a Welcome email on or shortly after February 2, 2026. Once you have received the activation email, please click “Activate Account” and follow the attached TN Web Portal User Guide – MFA Account Set Up for detailed instructions on activating your MFA account.

Additional information regarding the 2025 Ground Ambulance Service Provider Cost and Utilization Report submission process and requirements will be forthcoming.

If you have not registered for the web portal, please complete the attached registration form (new version) with the required information. As a reminder, IP addresses are no longer required and new registrations are expected to be processed within 1 – 2 business days.

Thank you,

TN EMT
PH: 800.374.6858
www.myersandstauffer.com

Nomination for East Tennessee Grand Survey

Section II-Terms of Directors:

East TN Grand Division Nomination 2026

Your Name*

Your Email Address*

Nominee's Name*

Nominee's Service Name (Must be a current TASA Member Service)*

Nominee's email address:*

Nominee's Phone #:*

Please enter the letters/numbers in the box

Submit NominationReset

April Board Meeting has been rescheduled to Thursday, April 10th at 1000 Central Time

The TASA Mid-Winter Leadership Pre-Conference topics and schedule has been finalized.

Download EMS Administrator Foundations 2.0 agenda flyer

Download/Print 2026 Mid-Winter Leadership Conference Agenda

Speakers and Topics Subject to Change

Host Hotel Reservations:

• • • The Park Vista Hotel by Double Tree – 705 Cherokee Orchard Road, Gatlinburg, TN 37738
    • Early reservation rate (before January 24th, 2026): $120.00
    • Use “Group Code”:  TAS
    • Booking Link: click here
    • The discounted room rate is available until Friday, January 23, 2026 or until there are no rooms available.
    • Conference Dates- February 18 – 20, 2026 (Pre-Conference: Feb. 17 & 18)

Additional rooms have been blocked for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of the 2026 TASA Mid-Winter Conference at the Bearskin Lodge in Gatlinburg. The group is named TN Ambulance Service and the discount reservation code is TAS26.

Guests should call the front desk of Bearskin Lodge at 877-795-7546 and mention that they need to book a room inside the block named TN Ambulance Service. Room rate is the same as Park Vista, rate of $120.00 per night.

Questions or difficulties email Rick Valentine at rvalentine@seviercountytn.org