To address the importance of the work that the payment reform committee is doing, we must consider the value of the part that small providers play in the healthcare delivery system today, and how imperative it is that we accomplish goals such as moving from Supplier to Provider status for all ambulance services in order to set the table for reimbursement that is more creative than just fee for transports. For example, 73% of all ambulance services who are credentialed by Medicare do less than 1,000 transports per year, which does not add up to sustainability for ambulances services endeavoring to adhere to best practices in providing emergency medical care.   A vast majority of those services represented in the 73% are the first line—and in many cases the only line—of emergency medical care in their communities.

—Jimmy Johnson
CEO, Life EMS
Past President, American Ambulance Association
Co-Chair, American Ambulance Association Payment Reform Committee
Enid, OK