A recent poll from One Country Project (OCP) outlines voters’ views on access to emergency care in rural areas and rural health care. The results overwhelmingly support the need for quality, affordable health care for all Americans, but only a third of voters think that the quality of health care in rural communities is sufficient.
According to the poll’s findings:
95% of voters agree that quality, affordable health care should be accessible to all Americans, regardless of where they live.
6 in 10 voters (59%) rate health care in the U.S. as excellent or good, but only a third of voters (36%) say the same thing about health care in rural or remote communities in the U.S.
96% of voters want rural communities to have access to lifesaving emergency medical care, but nearly two-thirds (64%) rate the quality of the emergency medical system in rural communities as not so good or poor.
96% of voters agree that emergency air medical transportation is an important life-saving service, including 74% who strongly agree.
96% of voters agree Americans who live in remote or rural areas must be able to be transported to a hospital quickly when they need to be.
Despite nearly unanimous agreement about the importance of access to lifesaving emergency medical care, the air medical industry is facing many challenges due to how it is reimbursed by government insurers for providing services.
Medicare currently reimburses air medical providers at 50 percent of the true cost of providing transport. This inadequate reimbursement has plagued the industry for years, creating severe financial challenges and making it nearly impossible to continue operating air medical bases. What’s more, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) recently announced cuts to its reimbursement rate for air medical transport, bringing it in line with the Medicare rate effective February 2024.
When asked about reimbursement rates for air medical transport, the poll found that:
84% of voters support increasing the rate that Medicare reimburses for emergency air medical services, so it is aligned with the actual cost of transporting patients.
97% of voters agree that we have an obligation to ensure that veterans have access to quality health care.
84% of voters oppose the VA’s proposed funding cuts for emergency air medical services for veterans.
Voters nationwide have spoken and it’s time for Congress and the VA to act – the health of rural America is counting on it.
Fortunately, a solution exists. Earlier this month, U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Representatives Ron Estes (KS-04) and Suzan DelBene (WA-01) announced introduction of the Protecting Air Ambulance Services for Americans Act of 2023. If passed, this legislation would give the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services the authority to update the air ambulance fee schedule to reflect the true cost of providing air medical transport. Now, it’s up to Congress to pass this legislation and preserve access to lifesaving air medical flights.
View the full survey results here.