Share:
House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2023 - 2024
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | July 19, 2023 12:45 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Lisa A. Borowski and Rep. Greg Scott |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Mileage Reimbursement for Ambulance Services – A Reintroduction |
| Several weeks ago, the General Assembly attempted to take swift and decisive action to support EMS providers across the Commonwealth. In a bi-partisan effort to support this essential service and the skilled providers delivering care, HB479 was introduced to provide Medicaid reimbursement for every mile a patient is transported by ambulance. This legislation passed unanimously out of the House Veterans’ Affairs & Emergency Preparedness Committee, received unanimous support in the House of Representatives, and full support of the Senate Health & Human Services Committee. Clearly, the PA legislature is fully behind our EMS providers and committed to bringing immediate relief. We understand recent hospital closures and the COVID-19 pandemic have challenged the already strained EMS system in Pennsylvania. Ambulance services in our communities are underfunded and struggling to recruit and retain qualified and skilled staff to provide timely responses to medical emergencies. By supplying additional funding, we can give these essential providers the flexibility they need to respond to the ever-changing and unpredictable healthcare environment impacting patient access to needed health care services. Reps. Borowski and Scott will re-introduce legislation to amend Human Services Code to provide Medicaid reimbursement for every mile a patient is transported by ambulance. This would eliminate the provision that limits the per-mile reimbursement of at least $4 to each mile beyond 20 miles of patient transportation. This bill would deliver much-needed funding to support emergency responders as they continue to provide essential services across the Commonwealth. Please join us in again supporting this legislation to provide vital funding to our ambulance services. |
Introduced as HB1605