H.R. 3691/S. 1803 provides steps necessary to reform the Medicare payment, helping to ensure that air ambulance transport is available to every person in need. AAMS firmly believes that every air ambulance is more than just the transport. The level of care provided by air ambulances and their highly trained crews make them flying intensive care units, and AAMS believes they should be reimbursed accordingly.

H.R. 3691/S. 1803 takes the necessary steps to reform the Medicare Fee Schedule for air ambulances by:

• Providing CMS the authority to rebase the Medicare fee schedule based on the data collected by CMS (as required by the No Surprises Act) and per the recommendations in the GAO study.
• Requiring the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a study of the CMS collected data. AAMS proposes several factors that should be taken into consideration in the GAO study, like the average cost per base to operate annually and the average cost per transport.

This legislation will provide CMS with a more transparent look into the overall cost of operating an air ambulance. With the combination of the GAO study and the AAMS backed legislation, we hope that air ambulances will receive the necessary compensation to continue to save lives.