Protecting Access to Ground Ambulance Medical Services Act of 2025
This bill amends the Medicare payment rules for ground ambulance and super rural ambulance services under the Medicare Part B ambulance fee schedule (Title XVIII of the Social Security Act). Its main effect is to extend the period and increase the size of certain add-on payments to ambulance providers. Specifically, for super rural ambulance services, the bill extends the effective date to January 1, 2028 and sets a 26.7% increase in the relevant payment rate for services furnished between October 1, 2025 and December 31, 2027. For ground ambulance services, the bill also extends the date to January 1, 2028 and adds two specific increases (4.3% and 3.4%, depending on the subcomponent) for services furnished in the same October 1, 2025 to December 31, 2027 window. Overall, the bill is designed to bolster Medicare payments to ambulance providers to help maintain patient access to ground ambulance services, particularly in rural areas.
Key Points
- 1The bill is titled the Protecting Access to Ground Ambulance Medical Services Act of 2025 and was introduced in the Senate in May 2025.
- 2It amends Section 1834(l)(12)(A) to extend the super rural ambulance payment provisions to January 1, 2028 and to set a 26.7% increase for services furnished from October 1, 2025 through December 31, 2027.
- 3It amends Section 1834(l)(13)(A) to extend the ground ambulance payment provisions to January 1, 2028 and to add, for services furnished in the October 1, 2025 through December 31, 2027 window, a 4.3% increase for one component and a 3.4% increase for another component.
- 4The changes apply to services furnished on or after October 1, 2025 and before January 1, 2028, with the new year reference date of January 1, 2028.
- 5The overall aim is to protect and enhance patient access to ground ambulance services by ensuring higher Medicare reimbursements to providers during the specified period.