HARRISBURG – With many ambulance companies struggling to keep their doors open, the state House on Monday approved legislation sponsored by Rep. Martin Causer (R-Turtlepoint) to increase the Medicaid reimbursement for emergency medical services.
“The current reimbursement rates come nowhere near covering actual costs. In fact, they are more than 200 percent below reimbursements provided by Medicare and commercial insurance,” Causer said. “Ambulance services that care for a high volume of Medicaid patients cannot continue to provide these life-saving services without additional support.”
House Bill 699 would increase reimbursements for Advanced Life Support (ALS) services from $200 to not less than $300, and for Basic Life Support (BLS) services from $120 to $180. The rates were last adjusted in 2004. Access to emergency medical services can mean the difference between life and death for many patients, and that is especially true in rural areas where many people live far away from local hospitals,” Causer said. “This is a major step forward in addressing the financial challenges facing our ambulance services.”
Causer noted the Medicaid reimbursement rate was one of several challenges identified by the Rural EMS Task Force he formed with ambulance officials, health care providers and other impacted groups across the three-county area.
The state House has also approved legislation to address another financial concern raised by the group. House Bill 1013 would allow for reimbursement when treatment is provided but transport does not take place. The bill sets the following conditions for reimbursement: The BLS or ALS unit must be dispatched by a county 911 center, and the EMS provider must have rendered care even though the transport was declined.
Both bills are now awaiting consideration in the Senate.
