René Borghese, new AAMS Board Chair, addresses NSA strategy

I am René Borghese and I am honored to serve as the 2022-2023 Board Chair for AAMS. I accepted my first position in the air medical industry in 1993 and currently serve as the Administrative Director of Duke LifeFlight in Durham, North Carolina. As many of you know, I have been active on the AAMS Board for the last five years, and in other AAMS volunteer capacities longer than that.  

Over the years, we have seen many changes in the landscape of our industry. As a result, AAMS has implemented considerable positive change over the past couple of years — change you asked for in member surveys, as well as through your feedback shared directly with our board, me, or our staff.  
 
The most significant issue we’ve had to work through, and into which we will continue to put sizable effort, is the implementation of the No Surprises Act (NSA). AAMS’ positions on the NSA and its interim final rule (IFR) are calculated to empower all AAMS members, regardless of ownership or management model, to achieve high-quality patient care, fair payment for air ambulance services, and access to care for patients and communities. When we felt we had exhausted all other options, we chose to enter a lawsuit against the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Treasury to address implementation regulations that depart from the law. We are seeking to ensure:

• A Qualifying Payment Amount (QPA) methodology that distinguishes between those air ambulances services that bill through a hospital system, and therefore may negotiate for their network rates based on a broad range of services and those air ambulance services that do not offer any other service. 

• A fair and transparent Independent Dispute Resolution (IDR) process that considers all factors provided to the IDR entity, including not only the QPA, but also the type of aircraft, crew training and quality, without giving any single factor predominant weight.

AAMS is aligned with every major hospital trade association. The American Hospital Association and the Texas Medical Association have brought similar legal challenges. The Federation of American Hospitals, the Association of American Medical Colleges, America’s Essential Hospitals, the Catholic Health Association of the United States, and the National Association of Children’s Hospitals have filed an amicus brief in support of the American Hospital Association’s lawsuit. 

 
Please feel free to contact me or the AAMS staff with questions on our policies and strategies. We welcome your questions, thoughts, and feedback. You are the member, and it is your services we represent. It is my commitment to do that to the utmost of my ability and ensure that your Board of Directors does the same. 
 
My thanks to all of you for your commitments to AAMS, the air medical community, and most importantly, to the patients we all serve.

Sincerely,

René Borghese
Chair, AAMS Board of Directors