as introduced - 89th Legislature (2015 - 2016) Posted on 03/17/2016 05:13pm
A bill for an act
relating to human services; increasing the medical assistance payment rates for
emergency ambulance services; amending Minnesota Statutes 2015 Supplement,
section 256B.0625, subdivision 17a.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
Minnesota Statutes 2015 Supplement, section 256B.0625, subdivision 17a,
is amended to read:
new text begin (a) new text end Medical assistance covers
ambulance services. Providers shall bill ambulance services according to Medicare
criteria. Nonemergency ambulance services shall not be paid as emergencies. Effective
for services rendered on or after July 1, 2001, medical assistance payments for ambulance
services shall be paid at the Medicare reimbursement rate or at the medical assistance
payment rate in effect on July 1, 2000, whichever is greater.
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(b) Effective for services provided on or after July 1, 2016, medical assistance
payment rates for ambulance services identified in this paragraph are increased by five
percent over the medical assistance payment rate in effect June 30, 2016. Payments
made to managed care plans and county-based purchasing plans for ambulance services
provided on or after January 1, 2017, shall be increased by five percent to reflect this rate
increase, and shall require the plans to pass on the full amount of the increase in the form
of higher reimbursement rates for ambulance services. The increased rate described in
this paragraph applies to:
new text end
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(1) an ambulance service provider whose primary service area as established under
section 144E.06 is mostly located outside the metropolitan counties listed in section
473.121, subdivision 4, and outside the cities of Duluth, Mankato, Moorhead, St. Cloud,
and Rochester; and
new text end
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(2) an ambulance service provider based in a community with a population of less
than 1,000.
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