(Fremont County, WY) – Amid ongoing local ambulance service contract disputes, the Fremont County Commissioners announced last week their plan to send a letter of intent to Cody Regional Health outlining the “preliminary terms and conditions under which Fremont County intends to enter into an agreement” with the organization for the administration of local EMS services.
The announcement of the letter of intent surprised members of the local EMS union, who have provided emergency care in Fremont County for years as employees of the private company Priority Ambulance. The announcement and the ongoing disputes prompted the union to plan to go on strike starting next week on September 28. (You can read the full breakdown of the situation and the timeline of the events here.)
Today, September 22, the Commission issued the following release to “address questions and concerns” on the matter, which is available in full below.
Fremont County entered into a five-year contract with Priority Ambulance (AKA Frontier Ambulance) for the provision of EMS services for Fremont County. Through the contract, the County provided ambulances, the ambulance barn/employee housing and other resources at no cost to Priority. It is unclear whether Priority charged its employees for housing. The subsidy paid by the County to Priority began at $75,294.00 per month in 2021 but ballooned to $157,000.00 per month in 2026. One notable increase in the subsidy payment was due to the threat of a strike and disruption of service in September of 2023.
In August of 2024, the County purchased an ambulance to be dedicated for non-emergent ground transports. The County also obtained a grant to cover Priority’s labor costs to operate this ambulance. The goal of the dedicated ambulance was to reduce the use of flights for routine patient transfers and increase Priority’s revenues and thus a reduction of the subsidy. Priority is obligated to report monthly revenues and other information regarding the dedicated ambulance, but has repeatedly failed to do so.
The Fremont County Commission along with other members of the Fremont County Association of Governments (FCAG), met to discuss the possibility of FCAG managing ambulance operations if the 3/4% sales tax passed. An FCAG committee evaluated current conditions, sustainability, governance, and future structure of ambulance service in Fremont County and provided detailed reports of its findings. After the tax was approved on August 18, 2026, the County fully intended to have FCAG assume management of EMS services once the tax funding is dispersed to local governments in April or May of 2027.
The contract for EMS services with Priority Ambulance (also known locally as Frontier Ambulance) was set to expire on June 30, 2026. In June of 2026, after the 3/4% tax was added to the ballot, the local EMS union requested a substantial increase from Priority Ambulance. Priority “pledged” to the union to use any revenues it might receive from the tax to support labor costs. The County was not in a position to pay for the increase but did negotiate an extension with Priority through September 30, 2026.
After the tax was approved, Priority requested a three-year extension with an increase of $636,000.00 in 2027, $289,000 in 2028, and $256,000 in 2029 for employee pay and benefits as demanded by the union. Such an extension would interfere with the plan to have FCAG manage EMS services and the County was not in a position to pay such a large increase, therefore the request was rejected. On September 3, 2026, Priority informed the Commissioners, via letter, that it would cease providing ambulances service on October 1, 2026 unless the County agreed to three-year extension. The County requested an extension with Priority through June 30, 2027, but the request was rejected.
The County then began discussions with Cody Regional Health to discuss options to prevent a lapse of service on October 1st. Cody offered that it might be able to assume management of EMS beginning on October 1 but that it would need a commitment through December of 2027. Unlike Priority, Cody is a not for profit service and has promised to share all financial information if it takes on EMS services in Fremont County. Cody requested a letter of intent to begin the process of board approval.
To ensure continuity of services, the County also continued to request a shorter extension from Priority with little success. On September 15th, Priority changed course and offered to continue through December 1st if each employee received a $10,000.00 retention bonus and a 4% salary increase. The County proposed a generous $5,000.000 retention bonus and a 4% salary increase to keep the EMS service going through December 1st. The local EMS union voted to strike instead of accepting the bonus and salary increase to work through December 1st.
County Commissioners have been extremely concerned about continuing ambulance service to county residents and have met frequently on this issue. The County has taken responsibility for funding the ambulance service and will continue to work towards maintaining the service.
Sincerely,
Larry Allen, Chairman of the Board
FCAG is set to meet on Thursday, September 24 at 11 AM in Riverton City Hall (816 N Federal Blvd.). The meeting is open to the public and can also be watched via Zoom. The meeting agenda is available to view below. 