United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2003-09-19 monographic deposited born digital 44 p. GA 1.13:GAO-03-986 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-03-986 P0b002ee18039a258 f:d03986 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-GAO-03-986 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-03-986 GAO-03-986 Cost analysis Ground transportation operations Health care costs Health care programs Medical fees Medical services rates Transportation costs Managed health care Emergency medical services Rural areas Other Written Product A08516 The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently implemented a Medicare ambulance fee schedule in which providers are paid a base payment per trip plus a mileage payment. An adjustment is made to the mileage rate for rural trips to account for higher costs. CMS has stated that this rural adjustment may not sufficiently target providers serving sparsely populated rural areas. The Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Benefits Improvement and Protection Act of 2000 (BIPA) directed GAO to examine rural ambulance costs. GAO identified factors that affect ambulance costs per trip, examined how these factors varied across geographic areas, and analyzed whether Medicare payments account for geographic cost differences. GAO used survey data on ambulance providers and Medicare claims data. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-03-986/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-03-986.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-03-986/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-03-986.pdf GAO-03-986 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-03-986 Other Written Product GAO-03-986; Ambulance Services: Medicare Payments Can Be Better Targeted to Trips in Less Densely Populated Rural Areas; Cost analysis Ground transportation operations Health care costs Health care programs Medical fees Medical services rates Transportation costs Managed health care Emergency medical services Rural areas Volume 114 Page 2763A 114 Stat. 2763A Public Law 106-554