President Obama has signed into law the Medicare and Medicaid Extenders Act (H.R. 4994). H.R. 4994 includes a one-year extension of current Medicare ambulance relief. More specifically, the new law extends the 2% urban, 3% rural and super rural bonus increases from December 31, 2010 until December 31, 2011. H.R. 4994 also provides funding for the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to pay contractors to reprocess ambulance claims for the first half of this year at the higher retroactive relief rates.
Yesterday evening, President Obama
signed into law the Medicare and Medicaid Extenders Act (H.R.
4994). H.R. 4994 includes a one-year extension of current Medicare
ambulance relief. More specifically, the new law extends the 2% urban, 3%
rural and super rural bonus increases from December 31, 2010 until December 31,
2011. H.R. 4994 also provides funding for the Centers of Medicare and
Medicaid Services (CMS) to pay contractors to reprocess ambulance claims for
the first half of this year at the higher retroactive relief rates.
NAEMT had advocated in collaboration with other EMS organizations, most notably, the American Ambulance Association,
the extensions of Medicare ambulance relief immediately following the enactment
of the current extension which was included in the health care reform
law. As a result of our efforts, ambulance service providers and
suppliers will not lose 2% in urban areas, 3% in rural areas and 22.6% to the
base rate in super rural areas in Medicare reimbursement starting January
1. We were also successful in the extensions being enacted before the end
of the year and thus avoid the problems associated with retroactively applying
the relief.
NAEMT
would like to thank our members who helped in this advocacy effort by
contacting their congressional leaders to urge them to vote in favor of
this bill.
Now that this extension as passed, we are talking with the offices of Senators
Charles Schumer, Kent Conrad, Pat Roberts and Jeff Sessions and Representatives
Richard Neal and Fred Upton about reintroducing the Medicare Ambulance
Access Preservation Act (S. 1301, H.R. 2443) early in the next
Congress. These Members of Congress were instrumental in the extensions
of Medicare ambulance relief and continue to support permanent Medicare
ambulance relief. We strongly encourage NAEMT members to continue
to push permanent relief. Please plan to attend EMS on the Hill Day in Washington,
DC on May 3 and 4.