HB 1568-FN - AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE

05/15/2024   1727s

2024 SESSION

24-2108

05/08

HOUSE BILL 1568-FN

AN ACT relative to reimbursement for ambulance services under the state Medicaid plan.

SPONSORS: Rep. Sellers, Graf. 18; Rep. McGough, Hills. 12; Sen. Innis, Dist 7

COMMITTEE: Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs

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AMENDED ANALYSIS

This bill directs the department of health and human services to submit an amendment to the state Medicaid plan regarding reimbursement for ambulance services.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

05/15/2024   1727s 24-2108

05/08

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Four

AN ACT relative to reimbursement for ambulance services under the state Medicaid plan.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1  New Paragraph; Commissioner of the Department of Health and Human Services; State Medicaid Plan Amendment Regarding Ambulance Services.  Amend RSA 126-A:5 by inserting after paragraph XXXIV the following new paragraph:

XXXV.  The commissioner shall submit to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) an amendment to the state Medicaid plan to provide reimbursement for ambulance services when care is provided in response to an emergency call to a member’s home or on a scene, when an ambulance is dispatched, and treatment is provided to the patient without the patient being transported to another site.  Providers shall be eligible for Medicaid reimbursement under this paragraph only when all the following requirements are met:

(a)  The response originated through a 9-1-1 call.

(b)  The patient consents to evaluation and treatment.

(c)  After the evaluation, and when indicated, treatment, the licensed paramedic or emergency medical technician (EMT) and the patient agree there is not a need for transportation by ambulance; this shall include when resuscitation efforts are terminated.

(d)  The patient does not request and actively refuses transport to an emergency department for evaluation.

(e)  The patient is stable for referral to the patient’s physician, other community resource or is deceased.

(f)  The patient has the ability, including mental capacity and transportation resources, to obtain assistance and medically indicated follow-up.

2  Contingency.  Section 1 of this act shall take effect on the date the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services certifies the approval of the amendment to the state Medicaid plan to the director of legislative services and the secretary of state.

3  Effective Date.  

I.  Section 1 of this act shall take effect as provided in section 2 of this act.

II.  The remainder of this act shall take effect upon its passage.

LBA

24-2108

Revised 1/31/24

HB 1568-FN- FISCAL NOTE

AS INTRODUCED

AN ACT relative to Medicaid reimbursement for non-transport emergency medical services calls.

FISCAL IMPACT:      [ X ] State              [    ] County               [    ] Local              [    ] None

METHODOLOGY:

This bill requires the state Medicaid program to reimburse for non-transport emergency medical services calls.  The Department states that it does not maintain data on ambulance calls which do not result in transportation, and is therefore unable to provide a cost estimate based on actual data.  However, the Department notes that in recent years it has expended approximately $11.2 million (total funds) annually on all ambulance services, with approximately $4.2 million (total funds) being attributed to services involving basic life support with either emergency or non-emergency transport.  Subtracting the costs of transportation, the Department anticipates that the bill will result in an additional increase of at least $2 million in total funds, of which $1 million will be state general funds and $1 million will be matching federal funds.

As the bill's effective date is 60 days after passage, it is assumed there will be no impact until FY25.

AGENCIES CONTACTED:

Department of Health and Human Services