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EMS EVOLUTION 2019 Spotlight: Medicaid Supplemental & Bridge Funding Programs
TEMSA's Hotel Rooms Are Selling Quickly; Register Today
Two bills related to EMS funding - the Medicaid supplemental bill (HB 2409) and the Medicaid bridge funding, or STAR Safety Net (HB 2333) - are being considered by the Texas Legislature. TEMSA will dedicate an hour of EMS EVOLUTION 2019 to taking a look at these initiatives and what they mean for the future of EMS funding in Texas.
Asbel Montes of Acadian Ambulance and Matt Sorrentino of PCG will take a look at these programs.
This is just a small sample of the important issues that TEMSA will cover at EMS EVOLUTION 2019:
- Medicare's new ET3 program.
- Emerging technology in EMS.
- Staffing and recruitment challenges.
- A seminar on Medicare's upcoming cost data collection program for ambulances.
- A two-hour medical director panel.
- A billing and coding course with Gail Atnip and Brian Werfel.
- A look at the state's Medicaid supplemental programs for ambulances.
- The 2019 Texas Legislature's effect on EMS agencies.
- Operational and business issues for EMS agencies.
- Much more.
Our Hotel Block Is Selling out
TEMSA secured an incredible deal at the Horseshoe Bay Resort, and it features a waived resort fee. Once it sells out, we do not know if we will be able to add more rooms to the block.
Don't Delay - Register Today Before the May 15 Early Registration Discount Deadline
Complete details, including hotel reservations, conference registration, and the agenda can be found by clicking here. We encourage you to register today so that you can receive conference updates.
TEMSA's early registration discount will end on May 15.
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Zoll: Thank You to EVOLUTION'S Title Sponsor
Thank you to Zoll for serving as EMS EVOLUTION's title sponsor. Click here to learn more about Zoll.
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Thanks to Dudley Wait for Speaking on the LPG/Rural Paramedic Tuition Bill Last Week
HB 1477 by Rep. Four Price (R-Amarillo)
Thanks to Dudley Wait for hanging out until 11 p.m. at the Capitol last week to testify on HB 1477, which would restore local project grant (LPG) funding and direct some of the funding to rural paramedic training.
Rep. JD Sheffield, DO (R-Gatesville) secured a companion "rider" on the appropriations bill that would create $7 million in funding for the LPGs. However, HB 1477 must pass in order for the funding to become available. Rep. Four Price (R-Amarillo) is carrying HB 1477.
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The Driver Responsibility Program Bill Will Finally Move in the House; EMS Implication
HB 2048 Is Scheduled for a Monday Vote
HB 2048 by Rep. John Zerwas, MD (R-Richmond), the Driver Responsibility Program (DRP) overhaul, is scheduled for a House vote on Monday. At the moment, the EMS allotment would be increased by 1 percent. However, lawmakers stated that due to the potential for more revenue, EMS may actually experience more revenue.
Once it clears the House, the DRP overhaul will have to clear the Senate.
TEMSA has been working on this issue with Chairman Zerwas. Stay tuned for more updates.
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Major "Surprises" on the Medicaid Supplemental Bills. What Happened?
HB 2333 and HB 2409 were amended to the "Uber" Transport Bill
The Texas House approved HB 1576 - the non-emergency "ride sharing" bill for Medicaid patients - last night. Rep. Chris Paddie (R-Marshall), who is carrying the STAR Safety Net legislation, was able to add an amendment to HB 1576 that would add two Medicaid payment initiatives for EMS agencies: extend a portion of Medicaid supplemental program for governmentals and create the STAR Safety Net for entities that provide 911 service to communities.
Click here to view the amendment.
Thanks to Rep. Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont), the author of HB 1576, for allowing this amendment. In addition, thanks to TEMSA board members Brent Smith of Hopkins County EMS and Butch Oberhoff of Acadian Ambulance for testifying on the two Medicaid payment bills - HB 2333 and HB 2409 - for testifying on these bills in committee.
HB 1576 now moves over to the Senate, where Senator Dawn Buckingham, MD (R-Lakeway) holds the companion bill.
Click here to learn more about the STAR Safety Net. The coalition for the Medicaid supplemental program does not have a website.
A session at EMS EVOLUTION 2019 will be dedicated to the Medicaid supplemental program and the STAR Safety Net.
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Surprise Billing: No Action This Week in the House
EMS Is Not Included
The Texas Senate voted the "surprise billing" legislation - SB 1264 - out of the Senate last week. It now sits in the Texas House. The hospitals have raised concern regarding the potential inclusion in the arbitration process.
As a reminder for TEMSA members, EMS is not included, and we will have a lengthy discussion about this issue at EMS EVOLUTION 2019. You will want to attend the conference to learn more.
This was TEMSA's note in last week's newsletter:
The Texas Senate is expected to consider SB 1264 today. Sen. Kelly Hancock (R-North Richland Hills), Sen. John Whitmire (D-Houston), Rep. Tom Oliverson, MD (R-Spring) and Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer (D-San Antonio) released a committee substitute for SB 1264.
The latest version targets a "narrow" segment of the health care industry, and it would not affect EMS. TEMSA will host a webinar in the near future to outline the legislation for TEMSA members.
It is important that the legislation still has a number of steps to take. While the Texas Medical Association did offer official support (along with a few recommendations) for the latest version, both the Texas Association of Health Plans and Texas Hospital Association registered as "neutral" on the bill.
The Texas Hospital Association expressed a number of concerns regarding the legislation in a recent letter:
"The most recent version of SB 1264, however, has embraced New York’s arbitration-based laws and included government-set parameters for payment amounts between health plans and providers. THA appreciates the environment of compromise surrounding this priority issue for consumers; however, there is a latent, negative impact to negotiated in-network rates between health plans and facilities. There is evidence that reference-based pricing in a similar New Jersey law to combat surprise billing resulted in a marked reduction in health plan reimbursement to hospitals. Hospitals serve as the safety nets for their communities, by, for example, providing lifesaving trauma care – often at a great expense. This care is an outlier to any benchmarking of reimbursement amounts. More, each year, hospitals write off or adjust millions of dollars of unpaid claims from patients and health plans through charity care and other policies, and data suggest that hospitals account for the minority of these billing practices. In fact, New York’s anti-surprise billing legislation purposefully excluded hospitals, largely because they are overwhelmingly in-network with health plans and to avoid unintended negative consequences for hospitals."
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"Creating an Emergency Medical Services Improvement Culture"
By Ernesto Rodriguez, Austin-Travis County EMS
Click here to view the article in the Institute for Healthcare Improvement.
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TEMSA Board Nominations Are Now Open
May 10 Deadline to Submit Nominations
Several TEMSA board seats are open for the election during EMS EVOLUTION 2019 this June. If you would like to nominate yourself or another individual to run for one of the following seats, please reply to this e-mail with your interest by May 10:
- Hospital-based EMS Small - Brent Smith, Hopkins County EMS (Incumbent)
- Non-Profit EMS - Keir Vernon, Harris County Emergency Corps (Incumbent)
- Private EMS Medium - Bobby Saunders, AMR Amarillo (Incumbent)
The incumbents are eligible to run again. In addition, TEMSA will be seeking a new president-elect from the current board of directors; Jonathan Sell of Booker EMS will complete his two-year presidency, and Jeff Mincy (Coryell Memorial Healthcare EMS) will begin his two-year presidency in June.
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TEMSA's Career Center; Submit Your Job Postings
Click here to visit TEMSA's career center.
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TEMSA's Listserv Is Active
Open to Texas EMS Agencies
TEMSA has created a listserv for Texas EMS agencies to utilize as an online forum for conducting informal conversations with other members of the EMS industry. If you would like to join, simply reply to this e-mail, and TEMSA will add you to it.
Keep in mind the following key considerations:
1. The posts are to remain in the forum, and they can't be shared outside of it.
2. All posts/emails will be monitored by TEMSA staff and board members, who will serve as moderators.
3. All posts/emails should maintain professional attitudes and demeanor at all times. Failure to do so will result in a moderator terminating your post, and removing you from the group.
4. All posts/emails should be pertinent to EMS in Texas, and should not advertise services for sale. If a post is looking for recommendations for a vendor, such recommendations should be done off list through person to person email.
5. All posts/emails should have a signature naming the person writing the post and the agency/company they represent.
6. Opinions expressed on this list are the those of the author and do not represent the official position of TEMSA or it's members.
7. Keep in mind that every response that you make will be sent to the entire forum.
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