Industry experts react: read what members of the EMS1 Editorial Advisory Board have to say about the newly announced Emergency Triage, Treatment and Transport (ET3) reimbursement model here.
By EMS1 Staff
WASHINGTON, DC — NAEMSP officials released a statement Thursday lauding the new Medicare reimbursement policy that will reimburse EMS agencies for the cost of providing Medicare beneficiaries with treatment-without-transportation and transporting patients to alternative destinations.
In its statement, NAEMSP officials note the new Emergency Triage, Treat and Transport (ET3) Model, promises to decrease unnecessary emergency department visits, improve patient outcomes and generate cost-savings to the health care system.
Currently, EMS services are reimbursed when transporting a critical patient to the emergency department, even if the patient has a treatable condition. EMS agencies are not reimbursed unless the patient is taken to the emergency department.
In its statement, NAEMSP officials note that the current model has “increased utilization of emergency departments nationwide for non-life-threatening conditions at a cost both to the health care system and to those patients who are experiencing life-threatening events.”
“For years, ambulance suppliers and providers have either had to transport non-emergent patients to an already crowded emergency department or forgo reimbursement for valuable life-saving care given in the field. This model, which promises to include valuable quality measures for care, can potentially transform the way the EMS community provides, and is reimbursed for, care. We look forward to working with HHS, CMS and CMMI as they further develop and deploy this model nationwide for the benefit of all patients,” said NAEMSP President Dr. David K. Tan.