[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 587 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 587

 To amend the Public Health Service Act and title XVIII of the Social 
 Security Act to sustain access to vital emergency medical services in 
                              rural areas.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 21, 2001

Mr. Conrad (for himself, Mr. Thomas, Mr. Daschle, Mr. Johnson, and Mr. 
   Roberts) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
                  referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Public Health Service Act and title XVIII of the Social 
 Security Act to sustain access to vital emergency medical services in 
                              rural areas.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Sustaining Access to Vital Emergency 
Medical Services Act of 2001''.

SEC. 2. RURAL EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICE TRAINING AND EQUIPMENT 
              ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.

    Part E of title XII of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
300d-51 et seq.), as amended by section 1305 of the Children's Health 
Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-310; 114 Stat. 1141) is amended by adding 
at the end the following new section:

``SEC. 1254. RURAL EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICE TRAINING AND EQUIPMENT 
              ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.

    ``(a) Grants.--The Secretary, acting through the Administrator of 
the Health Resources and Services Administration (referred to in this 
section as the `Secretary') shall award grants to eligible entities to 
enable such entities to provide for improved emergency medical services 
in rural areas.
    ``(b) Eligibility.--To be eligible to receive a grant under this 
section, an entity shall--
            ``(1) be--
                    ``(A) a State emergency medical services office;
                    ``(B) a State emergency medical services 
                association;
                    ``(C) a State office of rural health;
                    ``(D) a local government entity;
                    ``(E) a State or local ambulance provider; or
                    ``(F) any other entity determined appropriate by 
                the Secretary; and
            ``(2) prepare and submit to the Secretary an application at 
        such time, in such manner, and containing such information as 
        the Secretary may require, that includes--
                    ``(A) a description of the activities to be carried 
                out under the grant; and
                    ``(B) an assurance that the applicant will comply 
                with the matching requirement of subsection (e).
    ``(c) Use of Funds.--An entity shall use amounts received under a 
grant made under subsection (a), either directly or through grants to 
emergency medical service squads that are located in, or that serve 
residents of, a non-metropolitan statistical area, an area designated 
as rural area by any law or regulation of the State, or a rural census 
tract of a metropolitan statistical area (as determined under the most 
recent Goldsmith Modification, originally published in the Federal 
Register on February 27, 1992 (57 Fed. Reg. 6725)), to--
            ``(1) hire or recruit emergency medical service personnel;
            ``(2) recruit or retain volunteer emergency medical service 
        personnel;
            ``(3) train emergency medical service personnel in 
        emergency response, injury prevention, safety awareness, and 
        other topics relevant to the delivery of emergency medical 
        services;
            ``(4) fund specific training to meet State or Federal 
        certification requirements;
            ``(5) develop new ways to educate emergency health care 
        providers through the use of technology-enhanced educational 
        methods (such as distance learning);
            ``(6) acquire emergency medical services vehicles, 
        including ambulances;
            ``(7) acquire emergency medical services equipment, 
        including cardiac defibrillators;
            ``(8) acquire personal protective equipment for emergency 
        medical services personnel as required by the Occupational 
        Safety and Health Administration; and
            ``(9) educate the public concerning cardiopulmonary 
        resuscitation (CPR), first aid, injury prevention, safety 
        awareness, illness prevention, and other related emergency 
        preparedness topics.
    ``(d) Preference.--In awarding grants under this section the 
Secretary shall give preference to--
            ``(1) applications that reflect a collaborative effort by 2 
        or more of the entities described in subparagraphs (A) through 
        (F) of subsection (b)(1); and
            ``(2) applications submitted by entities that intend to use 
        amounts provided under the grant to fund activities described 
        in any of paragraphs (1) through (5) of subsection (c).
    ``(e) Matching Requirement.--The Secretary may not make a grant 
under this section to an entity unless the entity agrees that the 
entity will make available (directly or through contributions from 
other public or private entities) non-Federal contributions toward the 
activities to be carried out under the grant in an amount equal to 5 
percent of the amount received under the grant.
    ``(f) Emergency Medical Services.--In this section, the term 
`emergency medical services'--
            ``(1) means resources used by a qualified public or private 
        nonprofit entity, or by any other entity recognized as 
        qualified by the State involved, to deliver medical care 
        outside of a medical facility under emergency conditions that 
        occur--
                    ``(A) as a result of the condition of the patient; 
                or
                    ``(B) as a result of a natural disaster or similar 
                situation; and
            ``(2) includes services delivered by an emergency medical 
        services provider (either compensated or volunteer) or other 
        provider recognized by the State involved that is licensed or 
        certified by the State as an emergency medical technician or 
        its equivalent (as determined by the State), a registered 
        nurse, a physician assistant, or a physician that provides 
        services similar to services provided by such an emergency 
        medical services provider.
    ``(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--
            ``(1) In general.--There is authorized to be appropriated 
        to carry out this section, $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 
        2002 through 2007.
            ``(2) Administrative costs.--The Director may use not more 
        than 10 percent of the amount appropriated under paragraph (1) 
        for a fiscal year for the administrative expenses of carrying 
        out this section.''.

SEC. 3. PRUDENT LAYPERSON STANDARD FOR EMERGENCY AMBULANCE SERVICES 
              UNDER MEDICARE AND MEDICAID.

    (a) Ambulance Services for Medicare Fee-For-Service 
Beneficiaries.--Section 1861(s)(7) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 1395x(s)(7)) is amended by inserting before the semicolon at the 
end the following: ``, except that such regulations shall not fail to 
treat ambulance services as medical and other health services solely 
because the ultimate diagnosis of the individual receiving the 
ambulance services results in the conclusion that ambulance services 
were not necessary, as long as the request for ambulance services is 
made after the sudden onset of a medical condition that would be 
classified as an emergency medical condition (as defined in section 
1852(d)(3)(B)).''.
    (b) Ambulance Services for Medicare+Choice Enrollees.--Section 
1852(d)(3)(A) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w-22(d)(3)(A)) 
is amended by inserting ``(including the services described in section 
1861(s)(7))'' after ``outpatient services'' in the matter preceding 
clause (i).
    (c) Ambulance Services in Medicaid Managed Care Plans.--Section 
1932(b)(2)(B) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396u-2(b)(2)(B)) 
is amended by inserting ``(including the services described in section 
1861(s)(7) (if covered by the State plan))'' after ``outpatient 
services'' in the matter preceding clause (i).
    (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply with respect to services provided on and after the date of 
enactment of the Act.
                                 <all>