Sponsors (46)
The bill expands Medicare payment to support on‑scene, nontransport emergency care (including telehealth) to improve access and reimburse providers, but it increases Medicare spending and raises risks of overuse, regional inconsistency, and short‑term uncertainty for providers and payers.
Medicare beneficiaries can receive and be billed for on‑scene nontransport emergency treatment (including telehealth-enabled audiovisual medical direction), improving timely access to emergency care at home or on-site.
Ground ambulance providers and telehealth clinicians (and the hospitals/health systems that support them) will receive Part B payments aligned with transport rates for on‑scene nontransport care, reducing uncompensated care and making alternative on‑scene treatment financially viable.
Taxpayers and policymakers gain a GAO evaluation within four years to assess access, outcomes, regional variation, and recommendations, improving accountability and evidence for future policy decisions.
Taxpayers (and the Medicare program) face higher Medicare spending because Part B payments will expand to cover nontransport on‑scene care, which could strain the trust fund or require additional funding.
Medicare beneficiaries and taxpayers risk increased utilization and higher costs if aligning payments with transport rates incentivizes overuse of billable on‑scene services without strong guardrails.
Medicare beneficiaries (especially in rural or varying jurisdictions) could experience inconsistent access or quality of on‑scene nontransport emergency care if state or local protocols differ under the model.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires CMS to run a five-year model paying Medicare Part B for ambulance-provided emergency treatment without transport, aligning payments to transport rates and recognizing telehealth originating sites.
Requires the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation to launch, within two years, a five-year model that pays Medicare Part B for emergency treatment provided by ground ambulance crews when an ambulance is dispatched but the patient is not transported. Payments must generally align with the rates that would have applied if transport had occurred and the patient location is treated as an originating site for certain telehealth fees. The Comptroller General must evaluate the model and report on access, outcomes, regional variation, best practices, challenges, and recommendations within four years after the model starts.
Introduced April 1, 2025 by Mike Carey · Last progress April 1, 2025