Tell Congress to Permanently Fix Medicare Reimbursement Rates
July 9, 2015
The rate that Medicare reimburses emergency services agencies for providing ambulance transportation services is established by federal law. The permanent Medicare reimbursement rate for ambulance transport falls well short of meeting the cost of providing service. For years, Congress has been passing temporary extensions of "bonus payments" that supplement the permanent rate. The last extension was passed in April of this year and runs through the end of 2017.
The Medicare Ambulance Access, Fraud Prevention, and Reform Act of 2015 (H.R. 745/S. 377) would make the bonus payments permanent. This would reduce the risk of a sudden drop in the payment rates and make planning easier for EMS and Rescue agencies. Use the National Volunteer Fire Council’s Engage web site to contact your U.S. Senators and Representative today and ask them to co-sponsor this critical legislation!
