Bipartisan legislation introduced Wednesday by four U.S. lawmakers aims to ensure more residents of rural areas have access to ambulance service while ensuring those ambulatory services are reimbursed.
U.S. Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and Reps. Carol Miller, R-W.Va., and Yadira Caraveo, D-Colo., introduced the Preserving Emergency Access in Key Sites Act (PEAKS Act). The legislation would allow Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) in rural, mountainous areas to be able to operate ambulatory services under a special enhanced Medicare payment model. The bill would also help to preserve the CAH model in mountainous areas by providing more flexible requirements for these unique hospitals.
“The Appalachian region, which West Virginia lies completely within, has one of the highest shares of people living in ambulance deserts than any other region in the country,” Sen. Manchin said. “I’m proud to introduce the bipartisan, bicameral PEAKS Act to ensure every West Virginian and American living in mountainous areas are able to reliably depend on ambulance services during an emergency. Our legislation would also allow rural hospitals to receive the reimbursements they deserve for providing life-saving services to their communities and protect them from losing their unique status.”
“The Preserving Emergency Access in Key Sites Act is life-saving legislation that will ensure Critical Access Hospitals in mountainous areas are compensated fairly for the ambulatory services they provide to patients and positively impact rural communities across the nation. It’s imperative that all patients, especially those that live in unforgiving terrain, can access emergency medical care,” Rep. Miller said.
“Every Coloradan deserves access to emergency medical services regardless of where they live, and hospitals deserve proper compensation for their risky and often life-saving care,” said Representative Caraveo. “It’s high time for us to pass the PEAKS Act, which would ensure that the cost of ambulance services is covered all across Colorado.”
CAHs are a unique designation intended for the most rural type of hospital. Currently, CAHs in mountainous areas are not being reimbursed for providing ambulatory services under the enhanced Medicare payment model. This legislation would correct that error and reimburse CAHs for ambulatory services when there is no other ambulatory base within 15 miles of the facility. This would help to ensure these CAHs are not operating at a financial loss or struggling to support the flow or transportation of patients in their hospitals, and more areas of rural West Virginia and America would have access to ambulances.
The bill also protects CAHs currently located in mountainous areas to ensure they will not lose their designation even if a new facility is constructed within 15 miles.