Congress left ground ambulances out of the No Surprises Act off pending further study, however, they're a major source of surprise bills for consumers.
After ground ambulance bills were left out of the No Surprises Act, a new federal advisory committee will provide recommendations about how consumers can be protected against "exorbitant charges and balance billing when using ground ambulance services."
CMS announced on Friday that it's forming the Ground Ambulance and Patient Billing (GAPB) Advisory Committee, which was mandated by the No Surprises act, will make those recommendations to the secretaries of HHS, Labor and Treasury.
The committee's recommendations will be used to:
- Inform policy changes that will improve the disclosure of charges and fees for ground ambulance services
- Better inform consumers of insurance options for ground ambulance services
- Protect consumers from balance billing
- Address steps that may be taken by proposals for legislation and enforcement at the state and federal levels
Congress left ground ambulances out of the No Surprises Act off pending further study, however, they're a major source of surprise bills for consumers.
In fact, 51% of emergency and 39% of non-ambulance ground ambulance rides included an out-of-network charge for ambulance-related services, found an analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
That number was higher in seven states (Washington, California, Florida, Colorado, Texas, Illinois, and Wisconsin), where more than two-thirds of emergency ambulance rides included an out-of-network charge for ambulance-related services.
Air ambulances were included in the No Surprises Act, and in September, CMS announced proposed rules that would require plans, issuers, and providers of air ambulance services to submit detailed data regarding air ambulance services.
Alexandra Wilson Pecci is an editor for HealthLeaders.
