Bill Text: FL S1572 | 2018 | Regular Session | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Ensuring Access to Air Ambulance Services Act of 2017

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Failed) 2018-03-10 - Died in Health Policy [S1572 Detail]

Download: Florida-2018-S1572-Introduced.html

---

       Florida Senate - 2018                                    SM 1572
       
       
        
       By Senator Bean
       
       
       
       
       
       4-01660A-18                                           20181572__
    1                           Senate Memorial                         
    2         A memorial to the Congress of the United States,
    3         urging Congress to pass the “Ensuring Access to Air
    4         Ambulance Services Act of 2017,” as articulated in
    5         H.R. 3378 and S. 2121.
    6  
    7         WHEREAS, H.R. 3378, the “Ensuring Access to Air Ambulance
    8  Services Act of 2017,” was introduced on July 25, 2017, and S.
    9  2121, of the same name, was introduced on November 4, 2017, and
   10  both are pending before the 115th United States Congress, and
   11         WHEREAS, the “Ensuring Access to Air Ambulance Services Act
   12  of 2017” seeks to amend Title XVIII of the Social Security Act
   13  to require reporting of certain data by providers and suppliers
   14  of air ambulance services for purposes of reforming
   15  reimbursements for such services under the Medicare program, and
   16         WHEREAS, air medical services are a vital part of Florida’s
   17  emergency medical services system, providing access to more than
   18  6 million Floridians who cannot access a Level I or Level II
   19  trauma center within the first 60 minutes of an illness or
   20  injury that requires treatment, and providing timely, definitive
   21  care during transport, and
   22         WHEREAS, the majority of air medical patients are cardiac,
   23  stroke, and trauma patients who require timely critical care
   24  access, and
   25         WHEREAS, air medical providers were found to be reimbursed
   26  at less than half of their operational costs for more than 70
   27  percent of their patients, including Medicare patients, by a
   28  national study conducted on behalf of the Association of Air
   29  Medical Services in 2017, and
   30         WHEREAS, egregious underpayment by Medicare destabilizes
   31  the reimbursement environment for air medical providers, and
   32  reimbursement levels must be adjusted to preserve access to
   33  critical air medical services across Florida, and
   34         WHEREAS, it is essential that the Centers for Medicare and
   35  Medicaid Services assess the operational costs of air medical
   36  providers in order to ensure that reimbursement to these
   37  providers accurately reflects these costs, NOW, THEREFORE,
   38  
   39  Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   40  
   41         That the Congress of the United States is urged to pass the
   42  “Ensuring Access to Air Ambulance Services Act of 2017,” as
   43  articulated in H.R. 3378 and S. 2121, to ensure the continued
   44  availability of air ambulance services.
   45         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State dispatch
   46  copies of this memorial to the President of the United States,
   47  the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the
   48  United States House of Representatives, and each member of the
   49  Florida delegation to the United States Congress.