WASHINGTON — The American Ambulance Association released a statement responding to a joint opposition of their proposed ambulance cost collection methodology.
In their statement, AAA said they disagree with IAFF’s joint statement with IAFC And the Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Association that urged leaders not to endorse AAA’s proposed method because they did not believe it to be appropriate for the providers they represent.
“The American Ambulance Association membership is composed of ambulance providers of all types and sizes, ranging from non-profit, for-profit, volunteer, hospital-based, county-based, public utility models, and more,” AAA’s statement said. “We represent 911 ambulance providers in major metropolitan areas, small 911 providers in rural America, and those who provide vital hospital-to-hospital interfacility mobile healthcare throughout the country.”
AAA President Aarron Reinert said the “collection and analysis of accurate cost data for ambulance providers of all types is essential to the future of our industry.”
“If adopted by (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services), AAA’s cost collection recommendations will demonstrate the value of the care that we provide to our patients, as well as open the door for the establishment of forward-thinking payment models that sustain operations and grow innovation,” he said. “The American Ambulance Association welcomes discussion with fire and other stakeholders. Our door is always open.”
The statement added that their efforts to provide a cost data reporting method began in 2012 when they commissioned a study to design an “accurate, complete and minimally burdensome” cost model to “ambulance providers of all sizes, types and models.”
The organization also highlighted the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 that was passed into law in February.
“This bill included language that extended the ambulance Medicare add-ons for five years. It also required that ambulance services begin collecting and reporting cost data to CMS in 2020.”
AAA encouraged EMS providers to “speak with one voice on this critically important issue.”
“Inconsistencies in reporting and failure to standardize costs allowable under the Medicare statute will result in data being eliminated and will threaten the sustainability of the program,” the statement said. “As such, throughout this lengthy and intensive process, AAA leadership remains open to feedback and focused on the development of and advocacy for a cost collection system that encompasses all mobile healthcare provider types.”