Protecting Air Ambulance Services for Americans Act of 2025
The Protecting Air Ambulance Services for Americans Act of 2025 would modify how Medicare pays for air ambulance services. It gives the Secretary of Health and Human Services the authority to revise the air ambulance fee schedule (the payment rate) based on data from prior data collection requirements and ongoing data it collects every three years. The bill also requires the government to finalize a rule implementing the required data collection within six months of enactment, and it orders a GAO study within a year after data collection begins to assess costs, payments, and geographic differences, with recommendations to improve the fee schedule. In short, the bill aims to tie Medicare payments for air ambulances more closely to actual costs and utilization through enhanced data reporting, stakeholder input, and periodic review, with an official review to gauge adequacy and suggest improvements.
Key Points
- 1Expanded payment authority: The Secretary may revise the Medicare air ambulance fee schedule based on specified data sources, including data from a 2021 Consolidated Appropriations Act data collection and ongoing data gathered every three years.
- 2Data collection requirements: Every three years, air ambulance providers must submit data on fixed and operating costs per base, utilization by Medicare enrollees, revenue under Medicare, and other information the Secretary deems appropriate.
- 3Transparent, consultative process: If the Secretary decides to revise the fee schedule, the revision must consider stakeholder input in a transparent process that properly weighs the required data.
- 4Timely implementation of data rules: The Secretary must finalize and publish the air ambulance data collection rule within six months of enactment.
- 5GAO study and reporting: Within one year after data collection begins, the Comptroller General must report on operating costs, cost per transport, payer mix, payment adequacy, geographic cost variations, and provide recommendations to improve the fee schedule.