August 30 , 2006
Government Affairs
E-Update
Table
of Contents
Ambulance Cost Surveys are Due Tomorrow
Senators Smith and Lincoln Introduce Ambulance SNF-PPS Exemption Language
Advocates for EMS Supports Medicare Ambulance Relief
Reminder: Nine-Day Medicare Payment Hold in September
Section 1011 Conferences in El Paso and Newark
Forwarded from CMS
Ambulance Cost Surveys are Due Tomorrow
A reminder that completed ambulance cost surveys are due tomorrow!
If you have received a letter from Quantria Strategies asking you to complete a cost survey, please submit the survey by tomorrow, Thursday, August 31. If you are unable to complete the survey by tomorrow, please submit it as soon as possible. Quantria Strategies will continue to accept surveys past tomorrow and surveys submitted later than August 31 still will be included in the final analysis.
For those of you who are part of the random sample, you should also be receiving a phone call from a member of the AAA Board of Directors or AAA Reimbursement Task Force to make sure you received your survey letter. If you pledged to submit a survey and have not yet done so, you will be receiving a follow up call in the near future. It is critical that Quantria Strategies receive as many completed surveys from its random sample as possible.
Quantria Strategies has sent letters to 1,000 ambulance service providers asking that they participate in an ambulance cost study. The providers were randomly selected and represent a cross section of all provider types, service area populations and regions of the country. The AAA hired Quantria Strategies to conduct the study so that the ambulance industry will have a basis by which to compare the results of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) study on the costs of ambulance services now expected to be released this fall.
If you receive a letter, please follow the instructions and participate in the survey. It is critical that we have a large response rate. If you receive a letter and have any questions, please contact John O'Hare of Quantria Strategies at jfo@quantria.com or Judy Xanthopoulos at jax@quantria.com .
Senators Smith and Lincoln Introduce Ambulance SNF-PPS Exemption Language
On August 3, Senators Gordon Smith (R-OR) and Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) introduced legislation that among other items exempt all ambulance services from the Medicare prospective payment system (PPS) for Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs). The bill, entitled the Long-term Care Quality and Modernization Act of 2006 (S. 3815), was referred to the Senate Committee on Finance. If enacted, ambulance service providers would bill their Medicare Carrier or Fiscal Intermediary for all transports to and from SNFs. We will keep you posted on the progress on this legislation.
Advocates for EMS Supports Medicare Ambulance Relief
The Board of Directors of Advocates for EMS, a non-profit advocacy group comprised of EMS organizations, voted to support the efforts of the AAA on both temporary and permanent Medicare ambulance relief. Advocates for EMS is currently circulating to it members, one of which is the AAA, letters to Senator Trent Lott and Representative Tom Reynolds, respectively, letting them know of the support of the EMS community. The letters will be sent to Senator Lott and Representative Reynolds next week once Advocates for EMS has given its members enough time to review and consider adding their names to the letters.
Reminder: Nine-Day Medicare Payment Hold in September
A temporary hold will be placed on Medicare payments for all claims (including ambulance) during the last 9 days of the Federal fiscal year (September 22 through September 30, 2006). These payment delays are mandated by section 5203 of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. No interest will be accrued and no late penalties will be paid to a supplier or provider by reason of this one-time hold on payments. All claims held during this time will be paid on October 2, 2006.
This policy only applies to claims subject to payment. It does not apply to full denials, no-pay claims, and other non-claim payments such as periodic interim payments, home health requests for anticipated payments, and cost report settlements.
Please note that payments will not be staggered and no advance payments will be allowed during this 9-day hold. For more information, please view the MLN Matters Article at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MLNMattersArticles/downloads/MM5047.pdf .
Section 1011 Conferences in El Paso and Newark
Forwarded from CMS
Ambulance providers/suppliers are encouraged to attend one of CMS' outreach and education conferences on the Section 1011 program. Section 1011 of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act (MMA) of 2003, provides $250 million per year to eligible providers for emergency health services furnished to undocumented and other specified aliens. Since program inception, the Section 1011 program has paid nearly $97 million directly to providers for eligible services. As of August 2006, more than 15,500 providers have enrolled across the United States .
CMS will host two provider outreach and education conferences during 2006. The Newark session is also available via teleconference. The conferences will be held:
September 26 El Paso , Texas 8:30AM to 12:30 PM
September 28 Newark , New Jersey 8:30AM to 12:30 PM
To register for either conference, visit the TrailBlazer Web site at https://www.trailblazerhealth.com/Section1011/CalendarOfEvents/ .
For more information on the Section 1011 program or to enroll, providers may contact TrailBlazer Health Enterprises, the national contractor for the program, at (866) 860-1011 or visit their Web site at https://www.trailblazerhealth.com/Section1011/
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