Protecting Access to Ground Ambulance Medical Services Act Introduced in the U.S. Senate

June 15, 2021

On June 10, Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) introduced the Protecting Access to Ground Ambulance Medical Services Act, S. 2037. The bill extends for five years add-on payments for urban, rural, and super-rural ambulance service that are reimbursed by Medicare for patient transport. The bill also protects ambulance services from reimbursement changes tied to census data that misrepresents the need for services in rural areas.

“I’d like to thank Senators Cortez Masto, Cassidy, and all of the bipartisan cosponsors of S. 2037 for introducing this critical bill,” said National Volunteer Fire Council chair Steve Hirsch. “It is important that the reimbursement rates that EMS organizations receive for transporting patients meet the cost of providing that service. If the add-on payments aren’t extended many EMS organizations, particularly in rural areas, will have difficulty maintaining patient transport services.”