Protecting Air Ambulance Services for Americans Act of 2023

To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to revise payment for air ambulance services under the Medicare program. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Protecting Air Ambulance Services for Americans Act of 2023 2. Improvements to Medicare payment system for air ambulance services Section 1834(l) of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 1395m(l) (18) Improvements to Medicare payment system for air ambulance services (A) In general The Secretary may revise the fee schedule otherwise established under this subsection for air ambulance services based on data described in subparagraph (B) and data collected under subparagraph (C). (B) Data described For purposes of subparagraph (A), the data described in this subparagraph is data collected pursuant to the provisions of, and amendments made by, section 106 of division BB of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 ( Public Law 116–260 (C) Additional data collection The Secretary shall require, once every 3 years, providers of services and suppliers furnishing air ambulance services to submit to the Secretary— (i) data relating to the fixed and operating costs per air ambulance base attributable to furnishing air ambulance services to individuals enrolled under this part and data relating to the utilization of such services by such individuals; (ii) data relating to the revenue obtained by such providers and suppliers under this part attributable to the furnishing of such services; and (iii) any other information determined appropriate by the Secretary. (D) Consultation In the case that the Secretary elects to revise the fee schedule for air ambulance services under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall consider stakeholder input in a process that is transparent and appropriately considers data described in subparagraph (B) and data collected under subparagraph (C). . 3. GAO study on emergency air ambulance costs Not later than 1 year after the date on which data begins to be collected pursuant to the provisions of, and amendments made by, section 106 of division BB of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 ( Public Law 116–260 (1) the average annual operating costs per air ambulance base; (2) the average cost per transport by air ambulance; (3) the payor mix for air ambulance services; (4) the adequacy of Medicare payments for such services; (5) geographic variations in the cost of furnishing such services; and (6) recommendations on improving the fee schedule under section 1834(l) of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 1395m(l)

Summary: Protecting Air Ambulance Services for Americans Act of 2023This bill authorizes payment changes under Medicare for air ambulance services based on certain collected data and requires additional reporting from providers of these services.Current law requires providers of air ambulance services to report certain information regarding general costs and utilization to the Department of Health and Human Services; private health insurers are also required to report information relating to coverage of these services. The bill authorizes the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to revise payment rates under Medicare for air ambulance services based on this data, and it requires providers of air ambulance services to specifically report information relating to costs and utilization under Medicare.The bill also requires the Government Accountability Office to report on the data that is collected under current law requirements and to recommend changes to Medicare payment rates accordingly.