As part of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (BBA 2018), the Congress instructed CMS to develop a cost collection system to collect cost and revenue data related to the provision of ambulance services. Ambulance services are defined by federal law to include all levels of emergency and non-emergency services. 

CMS is in the first phase of this process. The Congress instructed the Agency to engage with stakeholders before specifying through notice and comment rulemaking the data collection system. By law, CMS is required to specify the final system by December 31, 2019. CMS must also identify the first group of providers and suppliers selected for the first representative sample by that date as well. It appears that the goal is to have the contractor develop a proposal before the 2019 rulemaking cycle which will begin next summer.

To engage with the stakeholders, CMS, through its contractor the RAND Corporation, is reaching out providers and suppliers to learn more about the costs and revenues associated with providing ambulance services.

During the American Ambulance Association’s annual meeting earlier this month, CMS through the RAND Corporation, convened a focus group where they selected several AAA members who were able to talk directly with the contractor. The discussion centered around characteristics of ambulance services that matter for determining costs. The group also talked about how data is currently captured at the state and local levels, as well as how data is tracked within ambulance services. There was also a lot of discussion about the importance of standardizing data elements and not relying upon different state or local definitions, which could confound the data and make it impossible to compare costs across states.

As we have reported previously, it is critically important that the data collected through this process is standardized and reflects the actual cost of providing ambulance services. It is important to make sure that the data is useable not only for supporting the ambulance add-ons after they next expire in 2023, but also to help implement broader reforms and innovative payment models.

CMS is now reaching out to others in the industry. If you receive an email or a phone call from RAND Corporation, please respond. 

If you have questions about, or would like assistance with regard to, this project, please contact Tristan North at tnorth@ambulance.org.

Collecting Data for the Future:  Understanding the New Statutory Cost Collection Requirement

By Kathy Lester, JD, MPH, Lester Health Law PLLC

On February 9, the President signed into law the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 which thankfully included a five-year extension of the ambulance add-ons.  Along with the add-ons extension, the Congress included language requiring the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to develop and implement a new cost data collection system for ambulance service providers and suppliers.  While cost collection may sound difficult, the process outlined in the new authority strikes the appropriate balance and will minimize the burden on ambulance service providers and suppliers, while allowing the federal government to collect meaningful data that can be used to address the inadequate reimbursement rates and modernize Medicare ambulance payment policies.

Knowing some time ago that the industry would need to provide CMS with cost information, the AAA for the past six years has been working with The Moran Company, a well-respected health care analytical firm in DC, on the best way to collect ambulance cost data.  Most recently, the AAA Payment Reform Committee has been working with the cost collection experts at The Moran Company to identify the data elements that CMS would need to collect to establish accurate information about the cost of providing ground ambulance services.  We have also developed educational materials that we will share with Members to help ensure a smooth transition into this system.

General

The core components of the new cost collection system for providers and suppliers of ground ambulance services are:

• A requirement that the Secretary of Health and Human Services, through notice-and-comment rulemaking, must develop a data collection system to collect:           (1) cost; (2) revenue; (3) utilization; and (4) other information determined appropriate by the Secretary;
• This system may use a cost survey; and
• The data collect should include information: (1) needed to evaluate the extent to which costs are related to payment rates; (2) on the utilization of capital equipment and ambulance capacity; and (3) on different types of ground ambulance services furnished in different geographic locations and low population density areas.

Representative Sample

Under the statute, the Secretary must select a representative sample of providers and suppliers from whom to collect data.  The sample will be determined based on the type of providers and suppliers (such as those that are part of a governmental organization, fire, hospital-based, etc) and the geographic locations (such as urban, rural, and low-population density areas).  An individual provider or supplier (defined most likely by National Provider Identifier) may not be requested to submit data in two consecutive years, to the extent practicable.

Reporting Requirements

A provider or supplier selected to report data must do so in the form and manner and at the time specified by the Secretary.  If a provider or supplier that has been selected to report does not do so, then the provider or supplier may be subject to a 10 percent payment reduction, unless the hardship exemption applies.  Providers or suppliers that are penalized may seek a review of the application of the penalty.  The Secretary does have the authority to take into consideration certain hardships as to why a provider or supplier was unable to submit their data and waive the penalty.

Modification Over Time

The Secretary may revise the system over time.

Public Availability of the Data

The Secretary will provide the information collected available through the CMS Website, similar to the process used for other data CMS collects.

MedPAC Report

In addition, the language includes a study/studies from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC).  MedPAC is required to issue at least one report, and potential subsequent reports, on the following:

• An analysis of the information submitted by providers and suppliers through the data collection system;
• An analysis of any burden on providers and suppliers associated with the data collection system;
• A recommendation as to whether information should continue to be submitted through such data collection system or if it should be revised;
• The adequacy of payments for ground ambulance services;
• Geographic variations in the cost of furnishing ground ambulance services; and
• Other information determined appropriate by the Commission.

Timeline

The Secretary must implement the data collection system according to the following timeline:

The AAA will continue to keep you informed as the development and implementation of the ambulance cost data collection system moves forward.

The AAA will continue to work with The Moran Company and other experts to make sure data collection system works for all ambulance service providers and suppliers and leads to information that the industry needs to move toward making the add-ons permanent and modernizing the benefit to include new payment models, including transports to alternative destinations, treatment with referral and no transport, and mobile integrated health.

Overview of The Moran Company Recommendations on Ambulance Cost Collection System

 From 2012 – 2014, The Moran Company developed, through a three-phase project, recommendations about how the Medicare program could collect costs associated with providing ambulance services. Consistent as well with the findings of the Congressionally mandated report on ambulance cost reporting/cost collection, The Moran Company determined that Medicare cost reporting would not be appropriate, result in the submission of accurate data, or solve the historic problem of under-reporting by the industry. Instead, The Moran Company recommended a “hybrid” model that relies on the data elements and accounting methods used in Medicare cost reporting and collects this information in a two-step process to ensure that the unique and varied business structures and their cost differences are appropriately captured.

Step 1:  Collect information to categorize ambulance services to allow for a statistically representative grouping and for appropriate comparison of cost data.

The first step would involve all ambulance operations completing a very short (8-10 question) survey for each of their NPIs. The information collected in this step could include:

• Organizational designation (e.g., a government authority, independent company, public safety or fire-based, hospital-based, other) [this information ensures that an appropriate number of each type of organization is represented in the cost collection step]
• Percentage of volunteer EMT labor [this information ensures that an appropriate number of all volunteer, partial volunteer, and no volunteer services are represented in the cost collection step]
• Volume of ambulance services delivered per year [this information ensures that costs from small, medium, and large services are represented in the cost collect step]
• Percentage of Medicare emergency and non-emergency services provided per year [this information ensures that the costs of both emergency and non-emergency services are appropriately captured in the cost collection step]
• Average duration of transports [this information ensures that the costs associated with various lengths of transport are captured in the cost collection step]
• Whether the service has a sole source contract and, if so, the percent of the activity provided under that contract [this information ensures that the cost differences associated with sole source contracts are captured in the cost collection step]
• If required to pay fees to the local jurisdiction [this information ensures that the costs associated with local jurisdiction fees are captured in the cost collection step]
• Other services that are a requirement of doing business [this information allows for the costs that may not be ambulance-related but mandated by local contracts to be accounted for in the cost collection step]
• Percentage of transports that are urban, rural, or super rural [this information is important to ensure that the costs associated with each designation are appropriately represented in the cost collection step]

Step 2:  Collect cost and revenue information from a statistically appropriate group of ambulance suppliers and providers.

The second step would involve providing information about specific cost and revenue data elements.  These would be consistent with the existing Medicare cost reporting elements for other providers, but in certain instances tailored to ensure that all allowable costs of ambulance services are collected.  For example, vehicle maintenance and fuel would be part of ambulance cost data and included, even if these data elements are not included on nursing home costs reports.

CMS would determine a statistically appropriate sample size for each organization type and ensure an appropriate mix of rural, urban, super-rural, as well as volunteer, sole source, and emergency/non-emergency services.  Over time all ambulance providers and suppliers would be required to report the data, but no individual service (defined by the NPI number) would be required to report every year.

Public Reporting.  Once CMS has collected the data, it will make a de-identified file of the information available to allow policy-makers and stakeholders to evaluate the information collected.  The AAA’s goal is to use this information to allow for meaningful reform that for the first time would link the payment rates to the cost of providing services.  The AAA also seeks to modernize the use of ambulance services in the health care system through policies such as alternative destination, treatment at the scene with referral and no transport, and community paramedicine.

2013 Final Report by The Moran Company

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