Medicare payments for air medical emergency transports do not adequately cover the cost of those services, a recent study suggests.
The study was conducted by the independent research firm Xcenda for the Association of Air Medical Services. Researchers analyzed the appropriateness of the 2002 Medicare rate-setting methodology for air medical services and the adequacy of current Medicare reimbursement. Study participants, all of which were billing Medicare in 2014, received an original data collection tool based on existing facility Medicare cost report forms. Researchers said cost data were then aggregated and analyzed at per-transport and per-base levels.
Study participants included fixed-wing, rotor-wing, for-profit, nonprofit, independent and hospital-based providers. Overall, they represent 51 percent of all U.S. air medical bases and captured 46 percent of air medical services billed to Medicare, researchers said.
Here are four study findings.
1. The study found the median cost per emergent Medicare transport in 2015 (both rotor and fixed-wing) for independent programs was approximately $10,200 and the per-base cost was $2.9 million.
2. Medicare payment rates covered approximately 59 percent of reported costs for Medicare transports, on average, in 2015.
3. In fiscal year 2015, more than one-third of respondents reported negative margins for emergent air medical services.
4. The study found the percentage of Americans covered by air medical services, within a 15-to-20-minute response area, rose from 71.2 percent in 2003 to 86.4 percent in 2016.
"A study such as this is long overdue," Rick Sherlock, AAMS president and CEO, said in a news release. "It has been AAMS' position for some time that Medicare payments do not adequately match costs. The results of the cost study have validated our stance. The data provides a baseline for transport providers industrywide regardless of business model."
Read the full study findings here.