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2004 SESSION

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HB 627 Ambulance; definition.

Introduced by: John M. O'Bannon, III | all patrons    ...    notes | add to my profiles | history

SUMMARY AS PASSED HOUSE:

Ambulance permits to be consistent with certain federal requirements. Requires the Commissioner of Health to issue permits or licenses for emergency medical services agencies and vehicles as needed to ensure compliance with federal regulations relating to reimbursement of ambulance services pursuant to Medicare and Medicaid.

SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED:

Definition of "ambulance"; consistency with certain federal requirements. Revises the statutory definition of "ambulance" to reflect the Board of Health's regulatory definition and adds a requirement for "ambulance" to include, consistent with federal regulations relating to reimbursement for ambulance services through Medicare and Medicaid, seven levels of permits for the following services, i.e., Basic Life Support; Advanced Life Support, level 1; Advanced Life Support, level 2; Paramedic ALS intercept; Specialty Care Transport; Fixed Wing Transport; and Rotary Wing Transport. The Commissioner of Health is required to issue permits for emergency medical services vehicles at the seven levels of services. The State Emergency Medical Services Advisory Board is given a new directive, i.e., to advise the Board, whenever any regulation promulgated pursuant to the emergency medical services law is being proposed, concerning consistency with federal regulations relating to emergency medical services, ambulances, or the credentialing of emergency medical services agencies or personnel. Recent changes in the regulatory definition of "ambulance" have created a hiatus in the operations of certain nonemergency transport vehicles that are primarily reimbursed through Medicare and Medicaid because, although federal standards require state credentialing, the state regulations eliminated specialty care transport as a permit level.