I agree that something different is needed, but I'm not certain exactly what. Alouette3 makes some good points. Many of the hospitals in small towns in rural America have very little capability. They can take care of sprains, small cuts, colds, and other minor ailments, but they're over their heads with heart attacks, strokes, fractures, and lots of other injuries. Ambulance services can't afford to be out of service for many hours driving patients to trauma centers, because often there is only one ambulance, staffed by volunteer crews. There are a few ground ambulance transport services, but not nearly enough, and time can make a huge difference to a stroke or cardiac patient. Even if they're kept alive on the ambulance, the chances of a full recovery diminish steadily as the time to a stroke or cardiac center increases. Often there is no airport available within a reasonable distance, at least one capable of taking the most often used FW EMS aircraft, especially one with IFR approaches. Prohibiting night HEMS will mean that many, many patients will die or never fully recover. We need to balance taking care of patients with safety, and where to come down on that fence is a philosophical question. Here, the philosophy has been to take care of the thousands, and the relatively few accidents are worth the risk. Requiring large helicopters with two pilots and full IFR capability, which can't be used 95% of the time, will mean that most rural areas will be without service, and that covers most of the continent. I understand that other countries have a different philosophy, and that's their business. The current US situation isn't ideal, but it's what we have, and changing it will be a major undertaking. It's not just a matter of the FAA making regulation changes overnight. Under current US law, that isn't possible. It requires notices of proposed rule making, taking comments from the public (including companies impacted) and then implementing the rules over time. I don't see emergency regulations being enacted.
The only way I can imagine providing large helicopters to the entire country is for the federal government to pay for them. The right would immediately cry "Socialism!" and oppose it.
It might happen, and I for one would welcome it, but it would be a nasty fight. Capitalism certainly won't provide it. I'm pessimistic about this, but far more optimistic this week than last week.