Background Check On Medics Rejected

The Idaho Senate Health and Welfare Committee has rejected a rule requiring emergency medical personnel to undergo a $34 criminal background check before becoming certified.

The decision means the 6-month-old rule will expire at the end of this month. It was a rule that divided urban and rural providers of emergency medical services.

Urban fire departments, including Boise and Lewiston, supported the rule as a way to protect patients, while rural emergency medical service units said the background check is an unfunded mandate that would cost them volunteers.