EMS Facing Uncertainty in 2017 Happy New Year! We’re just two weeks from shouting Happy New Year! The year 2017 is just around the corner and the ambulance industry faces unusual uncertainties surrounding funding and reimbursements in the upcoming year. Just before we begin the two-week celebration of Christmas and New Years Day, we thought […]
Medicare for All? Feel the Burn After two weeks of the major party political conventions, we can truthfully say we “feel the burn!” Hold on…we’re not taking political sides. Note that it’s “burn” and not “Bern” that we feel, as in “burn out.” Our presidential campaigns in the United States are far too long. After […]
The Power of EMS in Politics What’s it all mean? It’s hard to ignore that we are fast rolling into the election cycle to choose the next President of the United States. Media outlets everywhere are bombarding us with the latest sound bites and poll numbers, ad nauseum. But, what’s it all mean for EMS. […]
ICD-10 Behind the Scenes The stuff you don’t see… In previous blog posts we talked a lot about the new ICD-10 diagnosis code conversation set to take place on October 1st, primarily focusing on the things we see- namely documentation and the interpretation of the Patient Care Report documentation in the billing office that turns […]
The Changing Regulatory EMS Billing Landscape The Landscape Has Changed If you read this space on a regular basis, you know that we frequently discuss the changing regulatory landscape. With Medicare and Medicaid comprising well more than half of all the dollars that flow into many EMS agencies, it’s important that we all understand the […]
12 More Months/ICD-10 Delayed? Good News! Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a stop-gap measure to once again extend the ambulance bonus payments for another year. That’s really good news! Better News… But even better news was another part of the same bill passage. That part sets up a delay in the implementation of […]
Defining EMS for our Communities-Facility Education Last Week… In this space last week, we advocated stepping out to educate our communities about EMS. We focused primarily on where to educate people on the subject of when it’s appropriate (and not appropriate) to call 9-1-1 in light of medical necessity and the need for EMS. Our […]
Proposed Rule Tightens the Screw for Ambulance Feeling Beat Up? CMS published a proposed rule this week which intends to bolster fraud prevention and also limit certain Medicare privileges we’ve grown accustomed to in the ambulance industry. CMS is inviting comments on the proposal now through June 28, 2013. The American Ambulance Association has committed […]
Avoid the Ambulance Industry’s “Fiscal Cliff” Call to Action! This week’s blog is a Call to Action!! Earlier this week Stephen Williamson, President of the American Ambulance Association, sent out a stern warning concerning the looming expiration of the temporary Medicare ambulance add-on bonus payments that can disappear when 2012 draws to a close. These […]
House of Representatives Passes Medicare Ambulance Relief Extensions Late last night (December 13th) the U.S. House passed H.R.3630. The bill included language extending the current Medicare ambulance bonus payments for another one-year period, while mandating the General Accounting Office (GAO) to update the ambulance cost report. Tabbed the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation […]
