Amends titles XVIII (Medicare) (including part C (Medicare+Choice) of the Medicare program) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to establish a prudent layperson standard for emergency ambulance services under Medicare and Medicaid.
[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1353 Introduced in House (IH)]
107th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1353
To amend the Public Health Service Act and titles XVIII and XIX of the
Social Security Act to sustain access to vital emergency medical
services in rural areas.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 3, 2001
Mr. Kennedy of Minnesota introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to
the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Public Health Service Act and titles XVIII and XIX of the
Social Security Act to sustain access to vital emergency medical
services in rural areas.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Sustaining Access to Vital Emergency
Medical Services Act of 2001''.
SEC. 2. RURAL EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICE TRAINING AND EQUIPMENT
ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
Part E of title XII of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C.
300d-51 et seq.), as amended by section 1305 of the Children's Health
Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-310; 114 Stat. 1141) is amended by adding
at the end the following new section:
``SEC. 1254. RURAL EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICE TRAINING AND EQUIPMENT
ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
``(a) Grants.--The Secretary, acting through the Administrator of
the Health Resources and Services Administration (referred to in this
section as the `Secretary') shall award grants to eligible entities to
enable such entities to provide for improved emergency medical services
in rural areas.
``(b) Eligibility.--To be eligible to receive a grant under this
section, an entity shall--
``(1) be--
``(A) a State emergency medical services office;
``(B) a State emergency medical services
association;
``(C) a State office of rural health;
``(D) a local government entity;
``(E) a State or local ambulance provider; or
``(F) any other entity determined appropriate by
the Secretary; and
``(2) prepare and submit to the Secretary an application at
such time, in such manner, and containing such information as
the Secretary may require, that includes--
``(A) a description of the activities to be carried
out under the grant; and
``(B) an assurance that the applicant will comply
with the matching requirement of subsection (e).
``(c) Use of Funds.--An entity shall use amounts received under a
grant made under subsection (a), either directly or through grants to
emergency medical service squads that are located in, or that serve
residents of, a non-metropolitan statistical area, an area designated
as rural area by any law or regulation of the State, or a rural census
tract of a metropolitan statistical area (as determined under the most
recent Goldsmith Modification, originally published in the Federal
Register on February 27, 1992 (57 Fed. Reg. 6725)), to--
``(1) hire or recruit emergency medical service personnel;
``(2) recruit or retain volunteer emergency medical service
personnel;
``(3) train emergency medical service personnel in
emergency response, injury prevention, safety awareness, and
other topics relevant to the delivery of emergency medical
services;
``(4) fund specific training to meet State or Federal
certification requirements;
``(5) develop new ways to educate emergency health care
providers through the use of technology-enhanced educational
methods (such as distance learning);
``(6) acquire emergency medical services vehicles,
including ambulances;
``(7) acquire emergency medical services equipment,
including cardiac defibrillators;
``(8) acquire personal protective equipment for emergency
medical services personnel as required by the Occupational
Safety and Health Administration; and
``(9) educate the public concerning cardiopulmonary
resuscitation (CPR), first aid, injury prevention, safety
awareness, illness prevention, and other related emergency
preparedness topics.
``(d) Preference.--In awarding grants under this section the
Secretary shall give preference to--
``(1) applications that reflect a collaborative effort by 2
or more of the entities described in subparagraphs (A) through
(F) of subsection (b)(1); and
``(2) applications submitted by entities that intend to use
amounts provided under the grant to fund activities described
in any of paragraphs (1) through (5) of subsection (c).
``(e) Matching Requirement.--The Secretary may not make a grant
under this section to an entity unless the entity agrees that the
entity will make available (directly or through contributions from
other public or private entities) non-Federal contributions toward the
activities to be carried out under the grant in an amount equal to 5
percent of the amount received under the grant.
``(f) Emergency Medical Services.--In this section, the term
`emergency medical services'--
``(1) means resources used by a qualified public or private
nonprofit entity, or by any other entity recognized as
qualified by the State involved, to deliver medical care
outside of a medical facility under emergency conditions that
occur--
``(A) as a result of the condition of the patient;
or
``(B) as a result of a natural disaster or similar
situation; and
``(2) includes services delivered by an emergency medical
services provider (either compensated or volunteer) or other
provider recognized by the State involved that is licensed or
certified by the State as an emergency medical technician or
its equivalent (as determined by the State), a registered
nurse, a physician assistant, or a physician that provides
services similar to services provided by such an emergency
medical services provider.
``(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--
``(1) In general.--There is authorized to be appropriated
to carry out this section, $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years
2002 through 2007.
``(2) Administrative costs.--The Director may use not more
than 10 percent of the amount appropriated under paragraph (1)
for a fiscal year for the administrative expenses of carrying
out this section.''.
SEC. 3. PRUDENT LAYPERSON STANDARD FOR EMERGENCY AMBULANCE SERVICES
UNDER MEDICARE AND MEDICAID.
(a) Ambulance Services for Medicare Fee-For-Service
Beneficiaries.--Section 1861(s)(7) of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 1395x(s)(7)) is amended by inserting before the semicolon at the
end the following: ``, except that such regulations shall not fail to
treat ambulance services as medical and other health services solely
because the ultimate diagnosis of the individual receiving the
ambulance services results in the conclusion that ambulance services
were not necessary, as long as the request for ambulance services is
made after the sudden onset of a medical condition that would be
classified as an emergency medical condition (as defined in section
1852(d)(3)(B))''.
(b) Ambulance Services for Medicare+Choice Enrollees.--Section
1852(d)(3)(A) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w-22(d)(3)(A))
is amended by inserting ``(including the services described in section
1861(s)(7))'' after ``outpatient services'' in the matter preceding
clause (i).
(c) Ambulance Services in Medicaid Managed Care Plans.--Section
1932(b)(2)(B) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396u-2(b)(2)(B))
is amended by inserting ``(including the services described in section
1861(s)(7) (if covered by the State plan))'' after ``outpatient
services'' in the matter preceding clause (i).
(d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall
apply with respect to services provided on and after the date of
enactment of the Act.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR H1938)
Llama 3.2 · runs locally in your browser
Ask anything about this bill. The AI reads the full text to answer.
Enter to send · Shift+Enter for new line