House Bill Seeks To Increase Air Ambulance Funding

A bipartisan bill introduced yesterday in the U.S. House of Representatives seeks to increase Medicare reimbursement rates of air medical transports to at or near actual costs. H.R.3378, the Ensuring Access to Air Ambulance Services Act, was introduced by Reps. Jackie Walorski (R-Indiana), Suzan Delbene (D-Washington), Bill Johnson (R-Ohio), and Raul Ruiz (D-California).

In addition to increasing the Medicare reimbursement rate, the bill also provides for cost and quality reporting measures, more cost transparency, and incentives for providers who deliver higher-quality services at lower costs.

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A study funded by the Association of Air Medical Services (AAMS) and released earlier this year found that Medicare covered just 59 percent of the typical cost of air medical transport and that 70 percent of transports were unpaid or underpaid. “The air medical industry is facing an unsustainable future,” AAMS said. “Operating costs are rising, the population is aging, and hospitals are closing, especially in rural areas.”

It noted that 85 million Americans now live more than an hour from the closest trauma center, making the need for air medical transport in rural areas more exigent. AAMS emphasized that continued Medicare under-reimbursement could diminish rural air medical services.