Sen. Susan Collins has introduced a bill that would allow Medicare to reimburse ambulance services for some treat-in-place services.
Under current rules, if an ambulance service does not transport a patient to the hospital, it can't bill Medicare for the call.
Butch Russell, executive director of the Maine Ambulance Association, said that causes serious problems for small ambulance services struggling to operate.
"So if we're able to pick up more revenue on these calls that we're responding and the patients don't need to go to the hospital, it certainly will help fill that gap and hopefully help some of these smaller, struggling ambulance services in rural areas of Maine," he said.
Russell said that non-transport calls make up roughly 35% of total ambulance calls.
The legislation aims to reduce unnecessary emergency room visits and expenses for patients, and boost reimbursements for struggling ambulance services.
"It's a huge direction in helping fill the gap," he said. "It's not the answer, but it's definitely a huge step forward to help fill this gap, especially for rural Maine. So it's exciting, and I hope we can get it across the finish line."
