Protecting Access to Ground Ambulance Medical Services Act of 2025
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Protecting Access to Ground Ambulance Medical Services Act extends temporary Medicare ground ambulance payment add-ons. It amends Social Security Act section 1834(l) by changing the expiration year from 2025 to 2028 in paragraph 12 and paragraph 13. Those provisions support add-on payments for ground ambulance services, including rural and super-rural payment protections. The bill does not redesign ambulance payment policy; it keeps the existing temporary Medicare support in place for three additional years so ambulance suppliers and emergency medical service agencies do not lose the add-ons after 2025.
Who Benefits and How
Ground ambulance suppliers benefit because Medicare add-on payments continue through 2028 instead of expiring after 2025. Rural ambulance agencies benefit from extended rural payment protections under section 1834(l). Super-rural ambulance providers benefit from continued super-rural add-on treatment through 2028. Medicare beneficiaries needing ambulance transport benefit if extended payments help preserve emergency transport access.
Who Bears the Burden and How
CMS must update ambulance payment systems and guidance to reflect the 2028 expiration date. Medicare administrative contractors must continue applying the temporary add-on payments for covered ambulance claims. Federal taxpayers bear the cost of extending higher Medicare ambulance payments for three more years. Congressional health committees may need to revisit ambulance payment policy again before the 2028 sunset.
Key Provisions
- Extends Medicare ground ambulance add-on payments from 2025 to 2028.
- Amends Social Security Act section 1834(l) paragraph 12 for ambulance payment increases.
- Amends section 1834(l) paragraph 13 for related rural and super-rural ambulance payment protections.
- Preserves existing payment policy rather than creating a new ambulance benefit.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Extends Medicare ground ambulance add-on payments through 2028 by replacing 2025 with 2028 in the Social Security Act provisions for temporary ambulance payment increases.
Key Policy Areas
Medicare, Emergency Medical Services, Rural Health
Primary Purpose
Extends Medicare ground ambulance add-on payments through 2028 by replacing 2025 with 2028 in the Social Security Act provisions for temporary ambulance payment increases.
Policy Domains
Resolution provisions
Identified Gains
- Ground ambulance suppliers
- Rural ambulance agencies
- Super-rural ambulance providers
- Medicare beneficiaries needing ambulance transport
Identified Costs
- CMS
- Medicare administrative contractors
- Federal taxpayers
- Congressional health committees
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeMs. Tenney (for herself, Ms. Sewell, Mr. Bentz, Mr. Tonko, …
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in …
Introduced in House
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Ground ambulance suppliers, Rural ambulance agencies, Super-rural ambulance providers
Medicare beneficiaries needing ambulance transport
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology