VA Delays Rule on Specialty Ambulance Reimbursements Until 2029

Member Alert: September 12, 2024

VA Delays Rule on Specialty Ambulance Reimbursements Until 2029
Rule delay protects Veteran access to emergency medical transport, especially in rural areas

AAMS thanks leaders with the Department of Veteran Affairs for meeting with industry recently, and we applaud their decision, announced on September 6th,  to delay any change to reimbursement rates for air and ground ambulances until 2029. 

The planned VA rule to lower its transportation rate to parity with Medicare rates, which remain well below cost, was scheduled to go into effect in February of 2025. Such a significant decrease would have threatened the availability of crucial emergency health care for our nation’s Veterans. The rule delay provides much needed time for the VA to work with medical transport providers to ensure the rule will not negatively impact emergency transport services and providers’ ability to serve Veterans, especially those in vulnerable rural and hard-to-reach areas.
 
AAMS would like to thank Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Ranking Member Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) who continue to lead the charge ensuring rural Veterans’ have access to lifesaving emergency medical transportation services. You can view their communication here.  
 
We are also grateful to many organizations for their strong support as we worked collectively to delay the VA rate changes including:

• American Ambulance Association
• American Legion
• Association of Critical Care Transport
• Disabled American Veterans
• International College of Advanced Practice Paramedics 
• International Association of Fire Chiefs
• International Association of Fire Fighters
• Jewish War Veterans
• National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians
• Paralyzed Veterans of America
• Vertical Aviation International
• VFW

“AAMS welcomes the opportunity to continue working with our industry partners, the VA, the VSOs, and Congress to implement a path forward that would ensure Veteran access and availability to emergency transportation, particularly in rural America,” said AAMS President & CEO, Jana Williams. “We remain optimistic that the extra time for continued collaboration will result in a positive outcome for all stakeholders.”