Ambulance Reimbursement Systems, Inc.

From the American Ambulance Association: Congress Passes $900 Billion Stimulus Package with Ambulance Relief Last night, the U.S. House of Representatives follo...wed soon after by the United States Senate passed an approximately $900 billion legislative package to provide additional economic relief to businesses and individuals struggling from the COVID-19 pandemic. The package also contained numerous unrelated policy changes with several provisions on interest to ground ambulance service organizations. The AAA is currently analyzing the legislative text of the massive 3,000 plus page package and will provide members with the final analysis. In the meantime, below are some highlights. Sequestration Delay Sequestration, which reduces Medicare reimbursement by 2% for Medicare providers and suppliers, is suspended through March 31, 2021. Provider Relief Fund An additional $3 billion is added to the Provider Relief Fund administered by the Department of Health and Human Services. Balance Billing Health care providers will no longer be able to balance bill patients with private insurance. Rates will be determined through an arbitration process. The restrictions do not apply to ground ambulance services. The AAA along with the International Association of Fire Chiefs, International Association of Firefighters and National Association of EMTs successfully educated lawmakers about the oversight role of local governments in 911 EMS systems. The legislation instead establishes an Advisory Committee on Ground Ambulance Billing which will issue a report to Congress on its findings. The AAA will be pushing for representatives of the AAA to be on the Committee. Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Another round of $284 billion in PPP funding is made available to small businesses hit especially hard by the pandemic. Businesses must employ 300 or fewer employees and report losses of 25% or more in order to qualify. For ground ambulance service organizations which receive PPP funds under the past round or the current one, expenses covered by forgiven funds will now be deductible.

As a Result of Act 91 of 2020 the Annual Grant Program has been reauthorized! 2020-2021 Fire Company and Emergency Medical Service Grant Program... Application Period Open December 11, 2020 to January 25, 2021 Eligible Organizations The following organizations may be considered eligible for grant funding: All fire companies Emergency medical services Volunteer rescue squads Eligible Projects Eligible organizations may apply for grant funding for a combination of up to two projects in the following categories: Facilities: Construction and/or renovation of the fire company's or ambulance service’s facility and purchase or repair of fixtures and furnishings necessary to maintain or improve the capability of the company to provide fire, ambulance and rescue services. Equipment: Purchase or repair of firefighting, ambulance, or rescue equipment. This includes the purchase of fuel for company vehicles. Debt Reduction: Debt reduction associated with the facility (1) or equipment (2) categories above. Training: Training and certification of members. Training and Education: Materials regarding fire prevention for the general public. Career Departments Only: Overtime costs associated with backfilling positions while firefighters are attending training. Recruitment and Retention: Including, but not limited to, volunteer firefighter length of service award programs and programs for minors. Revenue Loss for Grant Issued in 2021 and 2022: Funds may be used to supplement operational expenses incurred by the lack of opportunities for fundraising and the inability to create revenue due to compliance with measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has just announced they are delaying Cost Data Collection until 2022. Read more: https://mailchi.mp/pwwemslaw/flexibilitygroundambdata-646318

Happy Thanksgiving to our wonderful clients and fabulous staff. ARS will be closed Thursday and Friday this week.