EMS Coalition PAYGO Letter to Congressional Leadership
This content is for AAA members only.
Please either or Join!
Tag: Sequestration
AAA 2022 Legislative Priorities
Yesterday, the American Ambulance Association Board of Directors approved the Association’s advocacy priorities for 2022. Our key initiatives reflect the challenges we face this year, including short-sighted threats to EMS balance billing, a worsening workforce shortage, the expiration of the temporary Medicare increases, and potential sequestration cuts.
We also continue to fight for you as you care for people first on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. We will sustain our efforts at securing additional funding for ground ambulance services to help address the increased costs of providing medical care and transport during the Public Health Emergency.
To achieve our collective goals, the AAA Board will need to mobilize the full voice of influence of the EMS community this year. If you have not already sent an email using the AAA advocacy system to your members of Congress, please do so today!
Staff will be reaching out to you at key points later in the year about letter writing for specific individual policy requests. But it is important that they hear from you now on all the top issues for ground ambulance services. They are:
Top AAA Advocacy Priorities for 2022
EMS Workforce Shortage
With the persistent shortage of ground ambulance service field personnel raising to a crisis level with the COVID-19 pandemic, the AAA moved the issue to a top policy priority. The AAA is currently working with key Congressional Committees of jurisdiction to hold hearings on the EMS workforce shortage. We are also developing legislation to specifically target increasing access for ground ambulance service organizations to federal programs and funding for the retention and training of health care personnel.
Balance Billing
The AAA successfully educated the Congress on the role of local government oversight and other unique characteristics of providing ground ambulance service organizations. As a result, the Congress directed the establishment of a Ground Ambulance and Balance Billing Advisory Committee to address the issue. The Committee is in the process of being formed and then has 180 days in which to make recommendations to the Congress. The AAA will be involved with the Committee and advocating that the Congress implement policies that meet the needs of our members.
Additional COVID-19 Financial Assistance
The AAA is advocating for additional financial assistance for ground ambulance service organizations to help address the increased costs of labor and other higher costs associated with providing health care during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Medicare Ambulance Relief
The temporary Medicare ambulance increases of 2% urban, 3% rural and the super rural bonus payment expire at the end of the year. The AAA will continue to push for passage of the provisions of the Preserving Access to Ground Ambulance Medical Services Act (S. 2037, H.R. 2454) before the provisions expire as well as for the adoption of language to ensure truly rural areas remain rural following changes to geographical designations based on the 2020 census.
Sequestration Cuts
The Congress delayed the additional 4% sequestration cut for only one yea. The AAA is working with other EMS and health care provider and supplier groups to permanently prevent the cut from going into effect as well as further extending the moratorium on the long-standing 2% cut.
Ambulance Cost Data Collection
With the 2-year delay of ambulance data collection due to the pandemic, the Medicare Payment Advisory Committee (MedPAC) will have little to no data to analyze in March 2023 in which to make recommendations to the Congress on Medicare ambulance payment policy and rates. The AAA is asking the Congress to push back the date of the MedPAC report and also expand the modified data collection timeline of two years to the intended four years.
On behalf of my fellow board members, I again thank you for your continued membership and participation. We look forward to serving you for many years to come.
Should you have any questions regarding our advocacy priorities, please contact AAA Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Tristan North at tnorth@ambulance.org.
2021 Legislative Priorities Highlights & Wrap Up
This content is for AAA members only.
Please either or Join!
Congress Passes Sequestration Cut Delay Bill
This content is for AAA members only.
Please either or Join!
House Passes Sequestration Cut Delay Bill
This content is for AAA members only.
Please either or Join!
Sequestration and PAYGO Update
This content is for AAA members only.
Please either or Join!
Call to Action: Write Your Members of Congress Today!
Our nation’s EMS infrastructure is at risk. Ground ambulance service organizations are facing a financial crisis due to the lack of adequate reimbursement for their services and a crippling shortage of paramedics and EMTs. If Congress does not act soon, the situation will become worse with an additional 4% sequestration cut for all Medicare providers and suppliers including for ground ambulance services. Our nation’s 9-1-1 EMS infrastructure is at risk.
Place follow the link below to contact your members of Congress and ask that they protect ground emergency and non-emergency ambulance services in our communities.
CMS | Sequestration | Claims Hold Lifted
CMS Confirms Suspension of Medicare Sequester Through End of 2021; Announces Lifting of Claims Hold
On April 16, 2021, CMS published a notice on the MLNConnects webpage announcing the passage of the Act to Prevent Across-the-Board Direct Spending Cuts, and for Other Purposes. The law, enacted on April 14, 2021 extends the suspension of the Medicare “sequester” through December 31, 2021.
In anticipation of the legislation’s passage, CMS announced on March 30, 2021 that it had instructed its Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) to hold Medicare Fee-For-Service claims with dates of service on or after April 1, 2021. With the passage of the bill, CMS further indicated that it has instructed its MACs to release any claims currently being held, and to reprocess any claims paid with the sequester applied. CMS indicated that no action is required on the part of health care providers and suppliers.
Medicare 2% Cut Freeze Extended
Yesterday, Presiden Biden signed into law legislation (H.R. 1868) to extend the current temporary freeze on the 2% Medicare sequestration cut. H.R. 1868 extends the deadline of the freeze from today until December 31. Contractors had been holding Medicare claims to avoid any issues but will again start processing claims. The AAA as well as other national EMS and fire organizations had pushed for the extension of the freeze.
Senate Passes Sequestration Suspension Extension Bill
Last week, the Senate by a vote of 90 to 2 passed legislation (H.R. 1868) to further extend the suspension of the 2% Medicare sequestration cut. H.R. 1868 would extend the suspension from March 31 to December 31. The Senate amended the bill so it goes back to the House which will likely consider the legislation the week of April 12 when it returns from the Easter holiday break. The House is expected to easily pass the bill. CMS will hold claims until the House passes the bill to avoid any retroactivity issues.
The House had previously passed a version of H.R. 1868 which would not only extend the sequestration suspension until December 31 but also prevent a potential 4% sequestration cut later this year. The additional cut is the result of a provision in the Budget Control Act which was triggered with passage of the American Rescue Plan. Senate Republicans objected to addressing the additional cut as part of the legislation and a compromise was reached to just extend the 2% cut suspension for the time being.
The AAA as well as the IAFC, IAFF, NVFC, CFSI and NAEMT had written to congressional leaders in support of passage of the House-passed version of H.R. 1868.
Update on Government Shutdown and Sequestration
As the government shutdown drags on the negative impacts continue to grow. If the shutdown continues through January 24, 2019, which is looking likely at this point, current law will require the Trump Administration to cut about $839 million from non-exempt federal benefit programs to avoid increasing the deficit. This is a result of the “PAYGO” (pay as you go) law which requires spending increases or tax cuts to be offset with cuts to programs or additional revenue to avoid increasing the deficit. As the largest nonexempt benefit program, it is likely that Medicare would experience the worst of these cuts through sequestration.
While the Trump Administration has not yet issued a sequestration order, there is a distinct possibility that one could be issued if the shutdown continues much longer. A sequestration order would mean an additional across the board cut to all Medicare providers, including ambulance services. Ambulance service providers are still feeling the impact of the 2% sequestration cut that has been in effect the past few years. Any new cuts would likely start out being targeted at administrative tasks which could slow payments to providers. Temporary cuts would be expensive for the administration to facilitate and is made more challenging by the fact that many important staff members are currently furloughed. There are also some at the Office of Budget and Management (OMB) who believe that these cuts could not actually be administered until the government is reopen.
The AAA will keep members informed of any new developments.