January 04, 2006
E-Update

Election Results for Region III and Region IV Runoffs

The AAA’s Nominating Committee Chair, Brian Walker is pleased to announce the results of the Runoff Elections. The headquarters office received 69 ballots for Region III and 74 ballots for Region IV. The results are as follows:

Thank you to the members of Region III and Region IV who participated in the election and congratulations to the newly elected Directors and Officers.

CMS Issues Change Request on Condition Codes

As reported earlier today in an AAA Member Advisory, on December 23, 2005 the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a Change Request (Transmittal 789) on the condition codes. The Change Request included a revised list of the condition codes and instructions on how to use the codes. Effective March 27, 2006, Medicare Carriers and Fiscal Intermediaries will now be required to accept the condition codes but the use of the codes is still voluntary on the part of the supplier or provider.

The AAA will be hosting two teleconferences in January on the condition codes which will be facilitated by industry experts and the individuals who helped develop the codes and instructions. The presenters will be Deb Gault, Ann Singer and David Werfel and the teleconferences will cover the same subject matter. To sign up for one of the teleconferences, simply complete the attached flyers or e-mail Allison Urquieta at aurquieta@the-aaa.org or fax it to Allison at (703) 610-9005.

CMS Outlines ALS Assessment Definition in Manual System

As requested by a caller during the Ambulance Open Door Forum of December 14, 2005, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has outlined the advanced life support (ALS) assessment definition in their Manual System. The definition is also available in the Code of Federal Regulations at 42 CFR 414.605 which can be accessed as an Adobe Acrobat file at: http://new.cms.hhs.gov/AmbulanceFeeSchedule/downloads/cfr414_601.pdf. Please note that CMS is merely making the definition more readily available and there is no change to the ALS assessment definition.

CMS Distributes Medicare Contractor Provider Satisfaction Survey

CMS has distributed the Medicare Contractor Provider Satisfaction Survey (MCPSS) to a random sample of 25,000 Medicare providers including ambulance services. If you receive a survey, you have until January 25, 2006 to complete and return it to CMS.

According to CMS, the Survey is designed to garner quantifiable data on provider satisfaction with the performance of Medicare Fee-for-Service (FFS) Contractors. The MCPSS is one of the tools CMS will use to measure provider satisfaction levels, a requirement of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA). Specifically, the survey will enable CMS to gauge provider satisfaction with key services performed by the 42 Contractors that process and pay the more than $280 billion in Medicare claims each year. CMS will use the results of the survey to improve its oversight and increase the efficiency of administration of the Medicare program. Contractors will use the results to improve the services they offer to providers. A scientifically-sound, objective method for measuring provider satisfaction enables CMS to make improvements over time to the Medicare program. The survey will be conducted on an annual basis.

For more information on the MCPSS, visit the CMS website on the Survey which can be accessed at: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MCPSS/02_Admin.asp#TopOfPage.

DHS Issues FY06 Grant Guidance and Application Kit

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently issued its guidance and application kit for the FY06 Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP). As part of the guidance, DHS requires state and local officials who are applying for a grant to involve emergency medical service providers in their preparedness and response plans. The requirement is the result of language that the AAA had promoted in the FY06 Homeland Security Appropriations Bill requiring states to provide an explanation if they distribute less than 10% of grant funding to EMS.

While ambulance service providers are not eligible to submit a grant application directly to DHS, providers can ask that their state and local government officials include requests for funding for EMS. You should contact your state and local emergency management and state homeland security directors to discuss the application. To access a copy of the grant guidance and application kit, visit the DHS website.

DHS Press Release on Formula Grants

DHS Introduces Risk Based Formula for Urban Areas Security Initiative Grants

$765 Million Available to High Risk Communities

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced today $765 million in direct funding for high threat urban areas as part of the fiscal year 2006 Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI). UASI provides resources for the unique equipment, training, planning, and exercise needs of select high threat urban areas.

“The department is investing federal funding into our communities facing the greatest risk and demonstrating the greatest need in order to receive the highest return in our nation’s security,” said Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. “Our nation’s preparedness and the support of our emergency responders on the frontlines of the war against terrorism must be a shared effort. We will continue to champion funding on the basis of risk and need, and we urge Congress to do the same to ensure that our finite resources are allocated and prioritized successfully.”

In fiscal year 2006, the department identified 35 areas eligible to apply for and receive funding. These 35 areas encompass 95 cities with populations of 100,000 or more. This year’s formula promotes a “super” UASI concept that is designed to build greater regional capabilities across a geographic area. In addition, 11 urban areas from the fiscal year 2005 UASI have been identified as eligible to apply for sustainment funding in fiscal year 2006, to ensure that strategic investments made thus far can be completed and to identify projects that, if funded, would significantly reduce risk.

All eligible applicants must submit an investment justification, which identifies needs and outlines the intended security enhancement plan to be addressed with funding, to meet the target capabilities outlined in the National Preparedness Goal. Investment justifications will be reviewed, scored, and prioritized along with risk factors to determine which investments should be funded to best address need and minimize risk.

The fiscal year 2006 UASI list of eligible applicants and recipients is determined through a robust risk formula that considers three primary variables: consequence, vulnerability, and threat. Factors such as the presence of international borders, population and population density, the location of critical infrastructure, formal mutual aid cooperation, law enforcement investigations and enforcement activity are considered in correlation with the risk formula for UASI determinations.

Cities on the UASI list with shared boundaries were combined for fiscal year 2006 into a single entity and urbanized areas outside the official city limits were also included in order to establish a geographic area for enhanced risk analysis, reflecting a regional approach to shared risk and risk-mitigation. Other expansions to the program in fiscal year 2006 include the incorporation of threat analysis from intelligence community products that reflect risk as seen through various attack modes, such as the incorporation of transient populations and greater depth and breadth in infrastructure data.

More than $2.1 billion has been allocated through UASI since the 2003 fiscal year. Since 9/11, $8.6 billion has been provided in overall grant funding to states and territories to enhance first responder capabilities in preventing, protecting and responding to acts of terrorism.

EMS. You should contact your state and local emergency management and state homeland security directors to discuss the application. To access a copy of the grant guidance and application kit, visit the DHS web site.

AAA MMTS Survey on Ambulance Safety

If you have not already done so, please take a moment to complete the survey on ambulance safety being conducted by the AAA Mobile Medical and Transport Safety (MMTS) Task Force. For the last couple of years, the MMTS Task Force has been researching how the AAA can assist ambulance service providers in reducing the number of ambulance collisions and resulting personal injuries and fatalities. The Task Force is now at the point where we need to collect data directly from ambulance service providers to better understand the situation and hopefully develop recommendations and guidelines. To facilitate the collection of this data, we have created an online survey comprised mainly of yes and no and multiple choice questions that should only take a few minutes to finish.

If you are not the individual at your operation who addresses ambulance safety, please forward it to the appropriate individual. Also, this survey is not limited to AAA members so please feel free to pass it along to other ambulance service providers in your state ambulance association. Please complete the survey by Wednesday, January 11, 2006.

If you have any questions regarding the survey, please do not hesitate to contact AAA Vice President of Government Affairs Tristan North. He can be reached by phone at 1-800-523-4447 or e-mail at tnorth@the-aaa.org. Thank you in advance for taking the time to complete the survey.