Table of Contents

CMS Announces Next Ambulance Open Door Forum

Write Your Members of Congress on Medicare Ambulance Relief

Medicare 101-Audio Conference With David Werfel, AAA Medicare Consultant

New Exhibit Hall Hours for Annual Convention in Las Vegas

Registration is NOW OPEN! for the 2005 AAA Annual Convention and Tradeshow- November 28-December 2-Las Vegas, NV

CMS Announces Next Ambulance Open Door Forum

On October 3, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that the next Ambulance Open Door Forum will be held on October 18, 2005 at 2:00 p.m. (eastern). To access the Forum, dial 1-800-837-1935 and provide the operator with the conference ID of 2778118. Below is the information for participating on the Forum.

CMS Ambulance Open Door Forum
Date: October 18, 2005
Time: 2:00 p.m. (eastern)
Phone #: 1-800-837-1935
Conference ID: 2778118
Conference Leaders: Bill Rogers, Charlotte Yeh and Rich Lawlor

TTY Communications Relay Services are available for the Hearing Impaired. For TTY services dial 7-1-1 or 1-800-855-2880 and for Internet Relay services click here http://www.consumer.att.com/relay/which/index.html. A Relay Communications Assistant will help you.

ENCORE: 1-800-642-1687; Conference. ID# 2778118
"Encore" is a recording of this call that can be accessed by dialing 1-800-642-1687 and entering the Conference ID, beginning 2 hours after the all has ended. The recording expires after 3 business days.

Write Your Members of Congress on Medicare Ambulance Relief

If your members of Congress are not listed below as cosponsors of the Medicare Ambulance Payment Reform and Rural Equity Act (H.R. 2014, S. 1109), please write to them today using the AAA online letter writing tool at http://capwiz.com/the-aaa/home. If you have written your members of Congress and one or more of them have not cosponsored the legislation, please call their Capitol Hill office and ask to speak to the health care legislative assistant for the Congressman. Attached to this E-Update are talking points for you to use when speaking to the staff member. To get the phone number for their Capitol Hill office, use your AAA 109th Congressional Directory or access the AAA website at www.the-aaa.org, click on the link to the letter writing tool, enter your zip code and click on “info.” for that member of Congress.

Cosponsors of H.R. 2014 (43 copsonsors)
Rep Alexander, Rodney [LA-5]
Rep Allen, Thomas H. [ME-1]
Rep Boustany, Charles W., Jr. [LA-7]
Rep Christensen, Donna M. [VI]
Rep Clyburn, James E. [SC-6]
Rep Conaway, K. Michael [TX-11]
Rep Cuellar, Henry [TX-28]
Rep Davis, Artur [AL-7]
Rep Davis, Susan A. [CA-53]
Rep Dicks, Norman D. [WA-6]
Rep Doggett, Lloyd [TX-25]
Rep Farr, Sam [CA-17]
Rep Filner, Bob [CA-51]
Rep Grijalva, Raul M. [AZ-7]
Rep Hinchey, Maurice D. [NY-22]
Rep Hinojosa, Ruben [TX-15]
Rep Holden, Tim [PA-17]
Rep Kildee, Dale E. [MI-5]
Rep Kolbe, Jim [AZ-8]
Rep Lofgren, Zoe [CA-16]
Rep McCarthy, Carolyn [NY-4]
Rep McHugh, John M. [NY-23]
Rep McNulty, Michael R. [NY-21]
Rep Michaud, Michael [ME-2]
Rep Moore, Dennis [KS-3]
Rep Murtha, John P. [PA-12]
Rep Oberstar, James L. [MN-8]
Rep Payne, Donald M. [NJ-10]
Rep Peterson, Collin [MN-7]
Rep Pickering, Charles W. (Chip) [MS-3]
Rep Platts, Todd Russell [PA-19]
Rep Ramstad, Jim [MN-3]
Rep Renzi, Rick [AZ-1]
Rep Reyes, Silvestre [TX-16]
Rep Ross, Mike [AR-4]
Rep Salazar, John T. [CO-3]
Rep Sanders, Bernard [VT]
Rep Souder, Mark E. [IN-3]
Rep Taylor, Gene [MS-4]
Rep Thompson, Bennie G. [MS-2]
Rep Thompson, Mike [CA-1]
Rep Walsh, James T. [NY-25]
Rep Wicker, Roger F. [MS-1]

Cosponsors of S. 1109 (7 copsonors)
Sen Coleman, Norm [MN]
Sen Dayton, Mark [MN]
Sen Harkin, Tom [IA]
Sen Jeffords, James M. [VT]
Sen Leahy, Patrick J. [VT]
Sen Schumer, Charles E. [NY]
Sen Sessions, Jeff [AL]

If you secure a commitment by one of your members of Congress that he or she will cosponsor the bill, please contact AAA Vice President of Government Affairs Tristan North so that he can follow up with his or her staff. Tristan can be reached at the AAA office at 1-800-523-4447 or by e-mail at tnorth@the-aaa.org.

Medicare 101-Audio Conference with David Werfel, AAA Medicare Consultant

Do you have situations where you are unsure how to properly bill Medicare? Do you have new billing employees? Are you getting conflicting advice from your Carrier and others you turn to for help? Register and get your questions answered by David Werfel, AAA Medicare Consultant and the man considered to be the quintessential expert on Medicare reimbursement issues.

If interested, print and complete the attached registration form.

If you have any questions, please contact the AAA at (800) 523-4447.

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