Table of Contents

Make Sure you register for the 2006 EMS Today Conference and Expo in Baltimore

President's Budget Would Cut Medicare Reimbursement

CMS Posts Corrected 2006 Rates

Register for the
2006 EMS Today Conference and Expo in Baltimore

American Ambulance Association is partnering Jems to present the Advanced Management Academy at the 2006 EMS Today Conference and Expo in Baltimore. The AAA is uniquely qualified to lend its expertise and provide resources that will complement the educational sessions at EMS Today –

• Quality Improvement presented by Jay Fitch, PhD
• How to Be An Effective ‘Grassroots’ Lobbyist presented by Gary Wingrove
• System Status Management & Dynamic Deployment Revisited presented by Jerry Overton, MPA
• Using Research to Maximize Your EMS Operation presented by Jerry Overton, MPA
• Medicare Update presented by David Werfel, Esq.
• Surviving a Medicare Audit presented by David Werfel, Esq.
• Developing Leadership Competencies presented by Jay Fitch, PhD
• Federal Politics & EMS presented by Patton Boggs, AAA Lobbyist

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President's Budget Would Cut Medicare Reimbursement

President's Budget Would Cut Medicare Reimbursement On February 6, the Bush Administration released its budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2007.  The budget included recommendations for cutting reimbursement to a majority of Medicare providers including ambulance services.  The proposed cuts to ambulance services are arbitrary and represent a push by the Bush Administration to reduce overall Medicare spending. We currently have over 50 AAA member representatives in Washington, DC as part of the AAA Lobby Days who are meeting with their Members of Congress.   We have revised the messages for these meetings to include talking points in opposition of the ambulance cuts in the budget proposal and to reinforce that Medicare reimbursement should be increased and not reduced for ambulance service providers. Included below are the two payment proposals that would impact ambulance services.  Please note that these are part of the President's proposal and will need Congressional action. 

Proposed Cut in Payment for Ambulance Services

The Budget proposes to reduce payment updates for ambulance services by 0.04 percent of each of years 2007 through 2009.  Using FY2006 as an example, the inflation update would only be 2.1% as opposed to 2.5%. The payment reduction is characterized as a "productivity adjustment" made to accurately pay providers for services provided and encourage adoption of productivity advances. 

Proposed Cut in Medicare Payments Across the Board

The Budget also proposes to cut Medicare payments to all providers if (1) the Medicare Trustee Report concludes that general revenues are projected to exceed 45 percent of total Medicare financing; and (2) Congress does not take action to fix payment inadequacy.   Specifically, if revenues fall below "adequate" levels and Congress does not act, the President's budget proposal would do as follows:

*       Four-tenths of one percent reduction to all payments (similar to a market basket reduction in payments)
*       The reduction grows by four-tenths of one percent every year that shortfalls continue to occur
If Congress comes up with alternative suggestions in lieu of these cuts, they would be considered through an expedited process.

CMS Posts Corrected 2006 Rates

CMS Posts Corrected 2006 Rates Earlier today, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) posted on the ambulance fee schedule webpage, the correct reimbursement rates for 2006.  The rates can be accessed in the public use files at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/AmbulanceFeeSchedule/02_afspuf.asp#TopOfPage .  AAA Data Analyst Chris Hogan has already verified the rates and information in the file are correct.

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