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Public Affairs: Matt Zavadsky, Senior Editor
AAA Government Affairs E-Update 10-7-08

Oct 7, 2008 - 1:27:05 PM

AAA Government Affairs E-Update

October 7, 2008  

1. AAA Adopts Interim Medicare Ambulance Relief Policy

2. AAA Secures EMS Language in Final DHS Appropriations Bill

3. CMS Confirms Ambulance Inflation Update of 5% for 2009

4. CMS Announces Details of Next Ambulance Open Door Forum on October 15

5. TrailBlazer to Host Section 1011 Ambulance Teleconference

6. ICD-10-CM/PCS National Provider Conference Calls with Q&A Session

7. Donate Prizes for AMBUPAC Raffle

8. House Adjourns for Year and Senate until November 17

9. Cosponsors to Medicare Ambulance Payment Extension Act

 

1. AAA Adopts Interim Medicare Ambulance Relief Policy

 

On October 2, the AAA Board of Directors approved a package for interim Medicare ambulance relief developed by the AAA Reimbursement Task Force and supported by the AAA Legislative and Regulatory Committee.  The AAA will request our champions in Congress to introduce the package as a stand alone bill early next year for the new Congress.  This package will replace our short-term relief efforts and the Medicare Ambulance Payment Extension Act (S. 1310, H.R. 2164) which die when Congress adjourns for the year.

The provisions of the package would begin on January 1, 2010 when the 2% urban, 3% rural and 22.6% super rural increases expire and the regional fee schedule is completed phased out.  We will launch a grassroots campaign early next year to ask AAA members to contact their members of Congress in support of the new legislation.

The provisions of the AAA Interim Medicare Ambulance Relief Package are as follows:

1)       6% increase for ground transports originating in an urban or rural area.  The increase would be to base rates only and includes the temporary 2% urban and 3% rural increases currently in place.  The 6% increase reflects the findings of the GAO and AAA cost reports.

2)       17% increase for ground transports originating in super rural areas.  The increase would be to base rates only and includes the temporary 3% rural increase as well as the 22.6% increase for super rural areas for a net less of 8.6%.  The 17% increase reflects the findings of the GAO and AAA cost reports.

3)       Implementation of a new definition of rural based on Rural Urban Commuting Areas (RUCA).  This new definition would expand the number of rural areas and result in 7% of urban transports being classified as rural transports and thus eligible for the 1-17 rural mileage bump of 50%.

This interim package would not reimburse all ambulance service providers at their costs for providing services to Medicare beneficiaries.  However, it would provide meaningful relief over the next few years in a political and economic climate where a majority of provider groups could receive cuts, not increases.  As new ambulance cost data becomes available, the AAA will research and consider more permanent relief to even better reflect the cost of providing ambulance services.

2. AAA Secures EMS Language in Final DHS Appropriations Bill

The AAA was able to secure language in the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Bill which requires the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to evaluate and report on the current state of disaster preparedness capabilities of EMS.  The report will help demonstrate that governmental and nongovernmental EMS providers need additional homeland security funding to be completely trained and equipped to respond to an act of terrorism on natural disaster.  The exact language is as follows:

 FEMA is directed, in conjunction with OHA, to report to the Committees regarding the current state of disaster preparedness capabilities of emergency medical services, as discussed in the House report. FEMA is encouraged to require State and local governments to include Chief Information Officers in planning efforts, as discussed in the Senate report. Further, FEMA is encouraged to consider the need for mass evacuation planning and pre-positioning of equipment for areas potentially impacted by mass evacuations in allocating first responder funds.

3. CMS Confirms Ambulance Inflation Update of 5% for 2009

On October 3, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued Transmittal 1607 to Medicare carriers and fiscal intermediaries in which CMS confirmed that the ambulance inflation update for 2009 is 5%.  In July, the AAA had first reported the unofficial inflation update of 5% but Transmittal 1607 makes it official.  To download a copy of Transmittal 1607, please click on the following link: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/transmittals/downloads/R1607CP.pdf.

The latest AAA Medicare Rate Calculator and Forecasting Tool already includes the 5% inflation update for 2009.  To access a copy of the Tool, please go to the "Reimbursement Issues" page of the "Members Only" section of the AAA website at www.the-aaa.org .

4. CMS Announces Details of Next Ambulance Open Door Forum on October 15

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services ( CMS) issued a notice confirming that the next Ambulance Open Door Forum will be held on Wednesday, October 15, at 2:00 p.m. (eastern).  To participate in the Forum, dial 1-800-837-1935 and provide the operator with the conference ID number of 58370825 and your name, organization name and the state from which you are calling.  Below are more details on the Forum.

CMS Ambulance Open Door Forum

Date: Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Time: 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. (eastern)

Conference Call Number: 1-800-837-1935

Conference ID: 58370825

 

Conference Leaders: Dr. Bill Rogers/Natalie Highsmith

TTY Communications Relay Services are available for the hearing impaired.  For TTY services dial 7-1-1 or 1-800-855-2880 and for Internet Relay services click here http://www.att.com/gen/general?pid=11103 .  A relay communications assistant will help.

ENCORE: Call Number 1-800-642-1687; Conference ID Number of 58370825.

"Encore" is a recording of this call that can be accessed by dialing 1-800-642-1687 and entering the Conference ID number of 58370825.  You can access the recording of the call from Wednesday, October 15 after 5:00 p.m. (eastern) through Monday, October 22.

5. TrailBlazer to Host Teleconference for Ambulance Services on Section 1011

Forwarded from CMS
The National Contractor for the Section 1011 program, TrailBlazer Health Enterprises ® , is hosting the third of three Ask the Contractor Teleconferences (ACT) on Thursday, October 30, 2008 from 1-3:00 p.m. (CT).

This ACT is designed for Section 1011 ambulance suppliers and will examine a variety of program issues.

Ask the Contractor Teleconference – AMBULANCE Suppliers

Thursday, October 30, 2008

1-3:00 p.m. (CT)

You may register for the event on the calendar of events page of the Section 1011 Web site, http://www.trailblazerhealth.com/Calendar/Default.aspx?DomainID=3.

A confirmation e-mail with the dial-in information will be sent to the e-mail address provided when your registration is approved.

A question-and-answer session concludes the teleconference and you may e-mail your questions in advance through the close of business Thursday, October 23, 2008 to section.1011@trailblazerhealth.com with Ask the Contractor in the subject line.

6. ICD-10-CM/PCS National Provider Conference Calls with Q&A Session

Forwarded from CMS

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will host a series of national provider calls (see below) that will provide an overview of ICD-10 and how it differs from ICD-9-CM. The presentations will include the major impacts providers should consider when planning to update any systems with ICD-10 codes. Issues such as differences in code length, alpha-numeric characters, and increased details captured by the codes will be explained. For the provider, payer, vendor, and publishing community, this overview will help them think about future reporting, system updates, and training, considering that ICD-10 may be implemented in the future.

The presenters will include members of the Cooperating Parties for ICD-9-CM, a formal coalition that has been working together on ICD-10 issues. The role of each will be explained, along with a similar role they will play should ICD-10 be implemented. The Cooperating Parties include CMS, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), and American Hospital Association (AHA).

A PowerPoint slide presentation has been posted on the ICD-10 Web Page at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/ICD10 for you to download prior to the conference call so that you can follow along with the presentation.

Conference Call Details:

Separate conference calls have been scheduled for each provider type. The same information will be presented at each conference call. Participants may select one of the times listed below to attend a conference call. Select the appropriate link below, according to your provider type, to register for a conference call.

Provider Type and Date and Time of Conference Call:

Other Part A and Part B Providers

November 12, 2008

12:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. EST

Registration information for this conference call will be forthcoming.

For those who are unable to attend, a transcript will be posted on the ICD-10 Web Page at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/ICD10 shortly after the conference call.

7. Donate Prizes for AMBUPAC Raffle

At the AAA Annual Conference in Las Vegas in December, we will hold our usual raffle and silent auction to raise money for the AAA Federal Political Action Committee (AMBUPAC).  If you or your organization is interested in donating a prize to the raffle or auction, please send an e-mail with a description of the prize to Tristan North at tnorth@the-aaa.org .

8. House Adjourns for Year and Senate until November 17 The U.S. House of Representatives has adjourned for this Congress and won't convene until January 3, 2009 for the new 111th Congress.  The Senate has adjourned until November 17 when Senators will return to Capitol Hill and try to resolve issues on primarily uncontroversial legislation.

9. Cosponsors to Medicare Ambulance Payment Extension Act

With the House adjourned and the Senate only returning for a short period of time in November, we will no longer report on cosponsors of the Medicare Ambulance Payment Extension Act.  As with thousands of other pieces of legislation, S. 1310 and H.R. 2164 will die at the end of this Congress.  Next Congress, the AAA will be pushing its new Interim Medicare Ambulance Relief Package.

 

 

 

 

 

 



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