Sponsors (19)
Requires triennial air-ambulance cost and revenue data, directs HHS to use that data to revise the Medicare fee schedule, and orders a GAO cost/payment adequacy report.
The bill aims to make air‑ambulance payments fairer and more transparent through standardized data and stakeholder input—improving planning and oversight—but does so by imposing recurring reporting requirements and tight deadlines that could raise costs, strain agencies/providers, and risk reduced access in some areas.
Medicare beneficiaries: a data-driven revision to the air‑ambulance fee schedule aims to produce fairer, more accurate payments, which could reduce surprise billing and improve access to emergency air transport.
Hospitals, health systems and air‑ambulance providers: standardized payment methodology and required cost reporting should make reimbursements more predictable and help providers plan financially.
Consumers, taxpayers and policymakers: mandated stakeholder input, faster standardized data, and public reporting improve transparency and oversight of air‑ambulance costs and service quality.
Air‑ambulance providers, hospitals and small businesses: recurring, detailed cost-and-revenue reporting and new compliance requirements will increase administrative burden and costs, which may be passed on to patients.
Rural communities and Medicare beneficiaries: if the revised fee schedule reduces Medicare payments, some providers may cut routes or services, decreasing access to emergency air transport in underserved areas.
Taxpayers and Medicare beneficiaries: if analyses or reporting lead to higher Medicare rates, program costs or premiums could rise, increasing fiscal pressure on beneficiaries and taxpayers.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Official title: To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to revise payment for air ambulance services under the Medicare program.
Introduced July 29, 2025 by Ron Estes · Last progress July 29, 2025
Allows HHS to revise the Medicare fee schedule for emergency air ambulance services using specified data and stakeholder input, creates recurring provider data reporting requirements, requires HHS to finalize an existing air ambulance data-collection rule within six months, and directs the GAO to analyze air ambulance costs and Medicare payment adequacy and report recommendations to Congress.