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The 2022 legislative session saw the passage of Senate Bill 1872, which extends the Ground Ambulance Assessment for one year to meet Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) requirements. The bill ensures that Tennessee receives crucial funding for ambulance services. Rep. Jay Reedy (R-Erin) sponsored the bill in the House.

The Ground Ambulance Assessment was created in 2018 to help fill the gap between the expenses incurred by ambulance services to perform a transport and what Medicaid reimburses for this transport. Without using any state dollars, ground ambulance services pay into a fund that draws down over $20 million in federal funds that is then paid back out to these services based on their Medicaid transports.

“I am pleased to have passed this legislation, which ensures Tennessee ambulance services receive an additional $20 million a year for ground ambulance transports throughout the state,” said Sen. Ken Yager (R-Kingston). “This year, CMS made changes to the assessment that could have resulted in fewer dollars returning to the state for ground ambulance services. This bill avoids that outcome, ensuring ambulance providers statewide have the same amount of federal dollars to maintain high-quality emergency services for Tennesseans. I appreciate the work of Rep. Jay Reedy to secure passage of this legislation in the House.”