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September 21, 2012
Dear AAMS Members –
A delegation of AAMS leadership met with staff members from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) today. As you may recall, this same group met with the MedPAC staff in March and provided a comprehensive data report in July relating to the Commission’s congressionally mandated study of the air and ground rural Medicare extenders and the ambulance fee schedules. Joining me in the delegation were AAMS President Tim Pickering, Vice-President Eveline Bisson, Government Relations Chair Greg Hildenbrand, Government Relations Vice-Chair Craig Yale, and Government Relations Manager Greg Lynskey.
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We had a productive conversation in which we were able to focus on the economic impact and the negative effects on rural access to care should the air rural zip code hold harmless be allowed to expire at the end of this year. We were also able to address questions the MedPAC staff asked on broader issues raised by other groups. We made it clear, however, that while AAMS would be pleased to discuss those as part of a longer-term discussion, our immediate focus was on the rural ground and air extenders that will expire at the end of this year if Congress does not act to renew them.
While we will continue working with MedPAC, ultimately, the fate of the extenders will be in Congress’ hands and we will need your help. In the coming weeks we will develop the necessary tools for you to use with your representatives over the next few months. In the meantime, please contact the AAMS office if you have any questions.
Regards,
Richard J. Sherlock
CEO, Association of Air Medical Services and MedEvac Foundation International
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