Pa. House committee advances ambulance mileage reimbursement change
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May 1—HARRISBURG — A Pennsylvania House committee voted unanimously to advance a bill proposing to revise a policy long bemoaned by ambulance providers that would improve mileage reimbursement for patient transports.
The Veteran Affairs & Emergency Preparedness Committee voted 21-0 to report House Bill 479 to the chamber floor.
The bill offered by Rep. Lisa Borowski, D-Delaware, was amended by Borowski herself to make the proposed change within the Human Services Code, rather than the Fiscal Code, so that it's not unintentionally reversed in future budget cycles.
The amendment also was approved unanimously.
The bill would end a mileage restriction on ambulance transports, allowing Medicaid to reimburse providers $4 for each mile a patient is transported. Pennsylvania doubled the rate from $2 in the last budget cycle but hadn't addressed the associated mileage cliff.
As it stands, reimbursement isn't permitted for the first 20 miles — a rule first responders both urban and rural have lobbied against. Whether the patient transport is a short trip or a long one, ambulance providers are left without reimbursement for all loaded miles traveled.
Rep. Jennifer O'Mara, D-Delaware, noted the occurrence and threat of hospital closures in Pennsylvania and that the mileage adjustment would be even more important for providers under such scenarios.
Don DeReamus, paramedic and legislative chair with the Ambulance Association of Pennsylvania, said at Monday's committee hearing that the proposal would correct a 40-plus-year-old "mistake" by the Department of Health and Human Services.
"Ambulance services should not have to bear the financial burden to essentially provide free transportation for Medical Assistance beneficiaries," DeReamus said.
