The number of Medicare Part B-reimbursed ambulance transports increased nearly 70 percent between 2002 and 2011, according to a report from the Office of the Inspector General.
During that same period, the number of fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries who received transport increased 34 percent.
Transports to or from hospitals, which make up 79 percent of all transports, increased 55 percent.
Transports to hospitals from an accident or acute event increased 112 percent and represented 13 percent of all transports to hospitals in 2011. Transports from homes to hospitals increased 51 percent and represented 50 percent of all transports to hospitals in 2011.
State variation in transport utilization appeared to be correlated with increases in dialysis-related transports above the national increase. Dialysis-related transports increased 269 percent, correlating with an increase in beneficiaries with end stage renal disease using increasing amounts of transports.
Whether transport changes met Medicare requirements will be determined at a later date, according to the report.
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