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Legislation

elow is a short list of Bills that impact the Healthcare industry and ultimately, you.
We will provide updates on these Bills as information becomes available.


     IAFCCP Government & Legislative Forum

   Track bills in Congress, your representative’s voting records,
    upcoming committee

   meetings, and get alerts by email at GovTrack.US

Federal Items We are Following

CALL TO ACTION on No Surprises Act

  • No Surprises Act
  • S.2121 Medicare air ambulance fee schedule
  • HR 3378: The Ensuring Access to Air Ambulance Services Act of 2017
  • HR 304: The Protecting Patient Access to Emergency Medications Act was reintroduced as HR 304, and rapidly made its way to passage by the House (404-0).  It now moves to the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions for consideration.  This bill provides for the DEA to allow the administration of controlled substances by standing order and moves registrant responsibility to the agency, instead of the physician, amongst other items.
  • FAA Reauthorization: The current FAA reauthorization expires in September 2017.  We will closely monitor efforts that affect uniform FAA oversight of aircraft operators.
  • GAO: The GAO continues its study of air medical pricing, as requested by House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Chairman Shuster and Ranking Member DeFazio.    
  • FAA Aircraft Rulemaking Advisory Committee (ARAC) Rotorcraft Occupant Protection Working Group (ROPWG): The ARAC has accepted the report on the cost/benefit analysis tasked to the ROPWG.  The Working Group has moved forward to its subsequent tasking to examine the feasibility of OEMs to meet partial or full application of CRFS/CRSS regulations.
  • Medicare reimbursement: AAMS is working on reintroduction of Medicare legislation which will update the Medicare fee schedule for air medical services to a level that is closer to actual costs of providing the service.  The IAFCCP supports such efforts, and we will monitor for introduction of the legislation.

At the state level, the GLAC continues to monitor state-level action to address concerns regarding consumer balance billing for air medical services. We are also monitoring the development of efforts to address shortcomings in government payment for air medical services

Questions about IAFCCP's position on current legislation affecting medical transport, 
contact our GLAC Chairman Christopher Hall.
 

Follow these six easy steps in less than 30 seconds.

 

Step 1
Click HERE. A new browser window will take you to Regulations.gov, and specifically to the docket for this Interim Final Rule.

Step 2
Click on the blue “Comment” button, near the top of the page, located just under the title “Requirements Related Surprise Billing; Part I.” This will take you to the webpage where you may provide your comment.

 

Step 3
Please paste the body of the message below into the provided field. (Near the top of the page is the word “Comment” with an asterisk.  The asterisk denotes a required field.)

 

Step 4
You will also have to choose to identify yourself as an individual (and provide contact information) or remain anonymous.  We encourage you to provide your contact information, which adds credibility to your comments as a healthcare provider.  However, the choice is yours.

 

Step 5
Click the box in the reCAPTCHA field.

 

Step 6
Click the “Submit Comment” button at the bottom of the page.  That’s it.  Thank you for using your voice as a healthcare professional to support your ability to continue serving your community and the patients that benefit from your dedication.

BODY of MESSAGE – (copy and paste):

I write you today as a professional Paramedic, working alongside my healthcare colleagues. For my entire career, I have dedicated myself to serving my community in this role, providing life-saving care for those who need it most, wherever they may be. It is my passion to serve and help others when they need us the most.

I am writing to you to express my concerns about the regulations for Section 102 of the No Surprises Act.  Only law enforcement and medical professionals determine if our air medical services are necessary (for example, at the scene of an accident), based on a prudent layperson standard, for the patient's condition as they find it.  If we are called upon, we respond and we meet our Duty to Act to serve patients at their most critical time of need.  It is a legal duty and one in which we are required to act.

Insurance companies are not on the ground at the scene of an accident, nor are they in emergency rooms, and therefore they lack the ability to make accurate judgments on the necessity of air ambulances, nor for ground ambulances.  It is not their expertise, nor is it our duty to make those determinations – only highly skilled, trained medical professionals and law enforcement. In these regulations as they are currently considered, if insurers decide to deny coverage of an air ambulance transport, patients may be hit by expensive and complex Adverse Benefit Determinations (ABDs).  The No Surprises Act was supposed to get patients out of disputes, including disputes over ABDs for medical necessity.

While I appreciate the efforts to resolve disputes fairly between healthcare providers and insurers, access to air ambulance services is absolutely critical for patients.  The right to determine the medical necessity of an air ambulance should be for emergency responders at the scene who are there to deliver life-saving care, and not for insurers to second guess via paperwork some months later. Please trust the people on the scene to do what they are trained to do – make the best decision for the patient.