New York State recently passed a bill expanding the coverage of Medicaid for ambulance services, allowing emergency personnel and ambulances to provide on-site treatment or transport patients to more suitable medical facilities in appropriate circumstances, ensuring that service providers can be reimbursed.
Last Wednesday, Governor Kathy Hochul signed two bills. One of them, S.8486-C/A.9102-C, requires Medicaid reimbursement for two types of ambulance services: providing treatment on-site without transporting the patient to a hospital, or transporting the patient to an alternative medical facility instead of a comprehensive hospital.
Previously, Medicaid only reimbursed ambulance services that transported patients to comprehensive hospitals. This bill reduces restrictions on ambulances only transporting to hospitals, allowing Emergency Medical Services (EMS) to respond more flexibly to emergencies, improving the efficiency of the medical system and reducing unnecessary medical costs.
Another significant bill, S.6226-A/A.5789-A, authorizes ground ambulances and Advanced Life Support emergency services to store and distribute blood, and initiate and implement blood transfusions, similar to the authorization for air ambulance services. This reform will significantly increase the survival rate of patients with injuries.
Governor Hochul stated that these laws ensure basic emergency treatment and transportation services, allowing New Yorkers to focus on their health in emergency situations without worrying about financial costs or the accessibility of critical healthcare when they need it most.
Several state senators, assembly members, and representatives of medical service organizations welcomed the signing of these bills. They believe that the new laws will immediately support the emergency system in improving patient survival rates and provide emergency service providers with more tools to support medical services in their communities.