AAA Government Affairs E-Update

March 11, 2009

1. REIMINDER: April Ambulance Open Door Forum

2. Teleconference on Section 1011 Program

1. REMINDER: April Ambulance Open Door Forum

The next Ambulance Open Door Forum will be held on Wednesday, April 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 88161255 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, April 15, 2009

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

Conference Call Number: 1-800-837-1935

Conference ID: 88161255

Conference Leaders: Dr. Bill Rogers/John Warren/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 88161255

"Encore" is a recording of this call that can be accessed by dialing 1-800-642-1687 and entering the Conference ID number of 88161255.  You can access the recording of the call from Wednesday, April, after 5:00 p.m. (EST) through Monday, April 20.

2. Teleconference on Section 1011 Program

Forwarded from CMS

Please note: Congress established the Section 1011 program for fiscal years 2005 to 2008 but stated "funds shall remain available until expended.  Not all the funds have been distributed.  CMS has therefore extended the program through the second quarter of fiscal year 2009 and could possibly extend it further depending on the availability of remaining funds.

The National Contractor for the Section 1011 program, TrailBlazer Health Enterprises, is hosting the first of two Ask the Contractor Teleconferences (ACT) for 2009 on Thursday, March 26, 2009 from 1:00-2:30 p.m. (CT).  This ACT is designed for Section 1011 providers and will examine the Provider Payment Determination (PPD) form.

Ask the Contractor Teleconference - Section 1011 Providers

Thursday, March 26, 2009

1:00-2:30 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?.  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, March 19, 2009 to section.1011@trailblazerhealth.com with Ask the Contractor in the subject line.

About Section 1011

On December 8, 2003, the president signed into law the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003 (Pub. L. 108-173) (MMA), which included Section 1011, Federal Reimbursement of Emergency Health Services Furnished to Undocumented Aliens.

The law requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to directly pay hospitals, physicians, and ambulance providers (including the Indian Health Service and Indian tribal organizations) for their otherwise unreimbursed costs of providing emergency medical services to undocumented aliens.

Emergency care for undocumented aliens is required by Section 1867 (the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, or EMTALA) of the Social Security Act and includes related hospital inpatient, outpatient, and ambulance services furnished to undocumented aliens, aliens paroled into the United States at a United States port of entry for the purpose of receiving such services, and Mexican citizens permitted temporary entry to the United States with a laser visa.

Section 1011 provides $250 million a year for fiscal years 2005-2008 for payments to eligible providers. Two-thirds of the funds are apportioned to the 50 states and the District of Columbia based on their relative percentages of undocumented aliens.

One-third is apportioned to the six states with the largest number of undocumented-alien apprehensions.  Payments are made from states' allotments directly to hospitals, certain physicians, and ambulance providers. A Medicare Critical Access Hospital (CAH) is also considered a hospital under the statutory definition.