FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
June 2, 2023
Contact: media@soarcampaign.com
(Washington, D.C.) – Today, the Save Our Air Medical Resources (SOAR) Campaign, Brain Injury Association of America, Consumer Action, Florida Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Florida Rural Health Association, National Grange, National Rural Health Association, and Rural Minds urged Congress to take action and empower the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to update the Medicare reimbursement rate for emergency air medical services.
CMS established the ambulance fee schedule in 2002 using limited data from 1998. According to the letter, the rate has not been meaningfully re-assessed in 24 years and does not reflect the current cost of providing air medical transport. Air ambulance providers are reimbursed at less than 50 percent of the actual cost of emergency transport for Medicare patients, which has a significant impact on the air medical industry since Medicare beneficiaries account for nearly 40 percent of all transports.
“Getting the reimbursement level correct is a matter of life and death,” the letter states. “Medicare’s vast under-reimbursement rate will force bases to shut down, leaving millions of lives at risk. In rural communities, where hospital closures have already left millions of Americans far from care and more than 600 additional hospitals are at risk of closing, this issue poses significant threats to the health care outcomes of residents.”
In addition to outdated Medicare reimbursement rates, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs recently announced cuts to its reimbursement rate starting in 2024, adding additional strain to the air medical industry and threatening access to lifesaving flights for thousands of Veterans.
To fix the longstanding under-reimbursement, the coalition is urging Congress to ensure CMS uses the cost data it was required to collect under the No Surprises Act to update the air ambulance fee schedule. This would allow emergency air medical providers to continue providing lifesaving transport for millions of Americans, especially those living in rural areas that lack access to a nearby hospital or medical center.
This letter comes just weeks after Representatives Ron Estes (KS-04) and Suzan DelBene (WA-01) and Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) introduced bipartisan bicameral legislation to update the Medicare reimbursement rate.
Read the full letter here.
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About Save Our Air Medical Resources (SOAR)
Save Our Air Medical Resources (SOAR) is a national campaign dedicated to preserving access to emergency air medical services for Americans across the country. Official partners of the SOAR Campaign include industry experts, in-flight paramedics and nurses, and patients who rely on emergency services. To learn more about SOAR visit https://www.soarcampaign.com/