Full Text of SR0314 96th General Assembly
SR0314 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| SENATE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The costs of operating ground ambulance services | 3 |
| have climbed dramatically in the post 9-11 era; and
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| WHEREAS, Ground ambulance services are provided by local | 5 |
| governments, including counties, municipalities, and fire | 6 |
| protection districts, as well as by hospitals, not for profit | 7 |
| organizations, and private companies who all rely on Medicaid | 8 |
| payments to offset their costs for providing ground ambulance | 9 |
| services to Medicaid recipients; and
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| WHEREAS, The costs for inputs such as fuel, insurance, | 11 |
| workers' compensation, and labor are increasing at a rate that | 12 |
| is outpacing inflation; and
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| WHEREAS, There are fewer licensed ground ambulance | 14 |
| providers in Illinois; and
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| WHEREAS, Some areas of the state are experiencing decreases | 16 |
| in the level of service available, and significant increases in | 17 |
| response times; and
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| WHEREAS, The United States Government Accountability | 19 |
| Office (GAO) published a report in 2007, titled Ambulance | 20 |
| Providers: Costs and Expected Medicare Margins Vary Greatly, |
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| and concluded that on average Medicare payments for ground | 2 |
| ambulance services are 6% below the cost to provide such | 3 |
| service; and
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| WHEREAS, Current Medicaid payment rates are substantially | 5 |
| below Medicare payment rates; and | 6 |
| WHEREAS, Illinois law recognizes that it is the intent of | 7 |
| the General Assembly to provide adequate reimbursement for | 8 |
| ambulance services so as to ensure access to those services for | 9 |
| Public Aid recipients, and that the Department of Healthcare | 10 |
| and Family Services should implement a reimbursement system for | 11 |
| ambulance services providers consistent with payment | 12 |
| principles and practices of Medicare to the extent practicable | 13 |
| and subject to the availability of funds appropriated by the | 14 |
| General Assembly; and | 15 |
| WHEREAS, The current Medicaid payment for ground ambulance | 16 |
| services is based upon an inaccurate and inappropriate | 17 |
| reasonable charge system that is no longer recognized by | 18 |
| Medicare; and | 19 |
| WHEREAS, Emergency ground ambulance services providers | 20 |
| cannot refuse service based on a person's inability to pay; and | 21 |
| WHEREAS, Medicaid rates for both emergency ground |
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| ambulance services and non-emergency ground ambulance services | 2 |
| were rolled back 6% on July 1, 2002 and have been frozen since; | 3 |
| and | 4 |
| WHEREAS, Low Medicaid payment rates for providing | 5 |
| emergency ground ambulance services to Medicaid recipients | 6 |
| combined with the chronic delay of payments for providing life | 7 |
| saving emergency services threatens the economic viability of | 8 |
| many ground ambulance service providers and further erodes the | 9 |
| ground ambulance services safety net statewide; therefore, be | 10 |
| it | 11 |
| RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL | 12 |
| ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that no later than January | 13 |
| 15, 2010, the Commission on Government Forecasting and | 14 |
| Accountability shall submit to the General Assembly a report on | 15 |
| the access, supply, quality, and cost of providing ground | 16 |
| ambulance services in urban, rural, and super rural areas; and | 17 |
| be it further
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| RESOLVED, That to determine what constitutes urban, rural, | 19 |
| and super rural areas, the Commission shall use the criteria | 20 |
| which has already been established by the United States | 21 |
| Department of Health and Human Services' Centers for Medicare | 22 |
| and Medicaid Services (CMS) for use with the Medicare Program; | 23 |
| and be it further |
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| RESOLVED, That the report shall detail how costs differ | 2 |
| among the types of ambulance providers, including, but not | 3 |
| limited to full cost providers and volunteer providers; and be | 4 |
| it further | 5 |
| RESOLVED, That the report shall detail how current Medicaid | 6 |
| payment rates relate to the cost of providing ground ambulance | 7 |
| services within the framework provided by the Medicare | 8 |
| Ambulance Fee Schedule, and that the base year used in | 9 |
| developing the report shall be the most recent calendar year or | 10 |
| fiscal year for which complete financial information is | 11 |
| available to the Commission.
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