New York EMS Providers
This is a call for any New York State EMS provider to request the Governor to sign a bill that will help New York ambulance services get payments directly from insurance companies.
Background: Historically the insurance companies strong arm providers into accepting a lower rate in order to get the payment sent directly to them. If they don't agree to take a fraction of the bill as payment, they may send a bill direct to the patient and leave it up to ambulance services to collect that money.
Please only complete this form IF you live in New York State.
The Honorable Kathy Hochul
Governor of New York State
NYS State Capitol Building
Albany, NY 12224
SUBJECT: Support for Signing S1466A Breslin /A250 Magnarelli into Law -- Direct Pay Reimbursement of Ambulance Services
Dear Governor Hochul,
I am writing to you to request your support S1446A/A250 that was recently passed by the Legislature with unanimous support. This legislation will help our EMS organization get paid for the services we provide and improve care delivery to our community. We appreciate your continued support of emergency medical providers throughout New York State. Signing this legislation would ensure payments intended for ambulance services get sent directly to the ambulance service provider and not the patient directly -- these are monies that were always intended for the ambulance service. Ambulance services treat patients with dozens of different health insurance companies and it is not practical to expect us to be participating with every insurance company, nor can an individual choose when they will have an emergency and expect them to choose a participating provider. We know that insurance companies have used direct payment through their in-network contracts as leverage to force ambulance services to accept lower reimbursement rates. Recent inflationary pressures have raised the costs of supplies and equipment dramatically, without corresponding new revenue from health insurers. We thank you for your consideration and urge you to sign S1446A/A250 into law.
Sincerely,
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