The legislative session closed on April 25, 2024. Going into this session it was well known that this was going to be a very tight budget year due to projected revenue shortages.

TennCare Reimbursement: Unfortunately although we received unanimous support in committees for our request to increase TennCare reimbursement rates, the funding for these increases were not included in the final State budget. SB2340 / HB1998

Ground Ambulance Assessment: The Ground Ambulance Assessment Program was renewed for SFY25 with no significant changes. (Non-emergent only SB2330 / HB2022) (Rural emergent & Non-emergent SB2168 / HB2490

EMS Grants: $2 million additional funds provided to the current EMS Grants fund being administered by the Office of EMS. SB2942 / HB2973

• Item 16. In addition to any other funds appropriated by the provisions of this act, there is appropriated the sum of $2,000,000 (nonrecurring) to the Department of Health, for the sole purpose of making grants on a competitive basis to emergency medical services organizations across the state, to be used for equipment. Any unexpended funds shall not revert to the general fund balance at June 30 and shall be carried forward in a reserve at June 30 and are hereby reappropriated in the subsequent fiscal year.

An email was sent last week to each ground ambulance provider that had qualifying transports for the assessment (invoice) portion of the program. It is anticipated that invoices will be sent out this week or next. Additionally we anticipate that MCO directed payments will be sent to providers by the 2nd week of June. These payment reports will be emailed and mailed once received from TennCare.

Assessment (invoice) calculation:

• total number of “emergency” responses that resulted in a transport (Oct 1 – Dec 31, 2023)
• multiply by $20.00
• payment must be received by the invoice due date to avoid penalties ($50 per day)

MCO Directed Payment calculation:

• total number of PAID TennCare claims (Jan 1 – Mar 31, 2024)
• only claims with HCPCS codes – A0225, A0427, A0429, A0433, A0434
• multiply by $229.50
• paid to provider though same means as regular claims remittance payments (i.e. check, ACH)

Reminder: The Cost & Utilization Report is due to be uploaded to the Myers & Stauffer StatLog Web Portal no later than May 31, 2024. All ground ambulance providers are required to submit.

Pursuant to TCA 71-5-1507(c), cost and utilization reports must be filed with the bureau no later than May 31, 2024. Failure to submit the report(s) by the due date will result in a $100 per day penalty until the report is submitted. If you require further information or have additional questions on how to utilize the provider portal, please contact Myers and Stauffer at (800) 374-6858, or via email at tnemt@mslc.com.

• Web Portal Registration Form
• EMS Cost & Utilization Report Template
• Myers & Stauffer Web Portal FAQ’s
• TN EMS Cost & Utilization Report – Recorded Training from March 27, 2024
• TN EMS StatLog Web Portal – Recorded Training from March 20, 2024

Download the Emergency Rule for the Training Stipend

From the Office of EMS
The Emergency Rules are now posted on the Department of State Web page and are in effect.  The final rules will be finished and published later.  These are the rules we will follow until the final rules take effect.  I do not have the submission information from Finance and Administration Office currently, but we are awaiting guidance from them to understand what they want.  I will attach the rules, as posted online, and you can send them out to the services.  We will work as a team to ensure that we give the same information.  A few highlights are listed below.

• Must be a licensed ambulance service.
• Must be a Full-Time employee (minimum of 20 hours of service per week).
• Section 3 has an outline of what needs to be on the class completion document.
• Everyone should read and understand Section 7 Disciplinary Action and Prosecution of False Claims.  This is going to be audited heavily as we must ensure compliance and accuracy. 
• The individual and the Service both have responsibilities and accountability with this submittal.

Thank you for your assistance and patience as we work thought the growing pains.

Aaron Kinser | EMS Consultant At-Large / Investigator

Division of Health Licensure and Regulation

Office of Emergency Medical Services

Currently the Grant is still in the approval process. When it is approved an email will be sent to everyone which will include an application that you need to completed and send back. The email address to return your application will be identified in this initial email. 

The returned applications will be organized by date and time received. Those that reply timely will receive funding until the monies are expended, at which time, no other applications will be accepted.

At that point, based on the information provided on the submitted application, a contract will be initiated with your entity that will serve as authorization for reimbursement. The contract will have to go through an approval process as well.

This can be a somewhat lengthy process so patience is much appreciated.

The PowerPoint slides and recordings of the trainings conducted over the last two weeks have been posted to our website and can be accessed here: https://myersandstauffer.com/client-portal/tennessee/#toggle-id-4

Please reach out should you have any questions.

Thank you,

TN EMT
PH: 800.374.6858
www.myersandstauffer.com

Dear TN EMS Services & Providers, YOU’RE HELP IS NEEDED URGENTLY! The Tennessee General Assembly is working on the state budget and we need to make our voice heard! House Bill 1998/Senate Bill 2340 by Rep. Gary Hicks and Sen. Ken Yager would increase the Medicaid reimbursement rate for non-emergency runs from 67.5% to 100%. Your legislator needs to hear directly from you. Please feel free to forward this to coworkers and family and urge them to send the below. Every contact helps. You can enter your address and find your legislators, and their contact information, here: https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/Apps/fml2022/search.aspx There is also language below so that you can copy/paste the message with your personal details. Please be sure to include your full name and zip code. COPY/PASTE THE BELOW EMAIL TO YOUR LEGISLATOR – Feel free to personalize your message and the positive impact this legislation will have for your service. Download this entire message in PDF or Download the this full message in MS Word

---

Subject line: Please fund HB1998 / SB2340 Dear Senator / Rep. (Representative or Senator NAME), Thank you for your service to the State of Tennessee. I’m writing today to ask that you support funding the increase in Medicaid reimbursement rate for non-emergency runs outlined in House Bill 1998 and Senate Bill 2340. Due to recent changes by the federal government, ambulance services like mine are seeing less reimbursement than ever before. Ambulance services are essential to our communities, and we often operate at a loss. These services are an important part of maintaining healthy communities. Background details: Since 2018 Tennessee ground ambulance providers have participated in the Ground Ambulance Assessment Program. This program provided supplemental payments for both emergency and non-emergency ground ambulance transports to help offset the extremely low TennCare reimbursement rate. This program was a life-safer for many ambulance services were facing reduction in services and/or closure. In February 2022, CMS communicated to TennCare that non-emergency ground ambulance transports should not be included in the ground ambulance assessment. This was a devastating blow to the ambulance services providing non-emergency ambulance services across the state. This has led to ambulance services again facing reduction in services, increases in local subsidies, and in some cases – facing closure. In addition, Managed Care Organization transportation brokers are experiencing increased difficulty in scheduling non-emergency transports for TennCare beneficiaries because of this change. Increasing the current TennCare non-emergency reimbursement rates to 100% of published Medicare Fee Schedule would be a significant help reduce the impact of the recent lost supplemental payments. Again, thank you for your service and your continued support of EMS services. Thank you, (YOUR NAME) (YOUR TITLE) (ZIP CODE)

Attention: Front Line EMS Providers

As a part of an initiative to understand and guide the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Emergency Medical Services, we are conducting a brief 10 question survey, and your insights as front line EMS providers across the state of Tennessee are invaluable.

This survey aims to gather basic information about the current use and potential future applications of AI in our field. We are particularly interested in your personal experiences, insights, and any concerns you might have regarding the implementation of AI in EMS. Your perspectives will play a crucial role in guiding us towards appropriate and effective adoption of these technologies.

Please rest assured, your responses will be completely anonymous and therefore we will not ask for any personally identifying information. The insights derived from this survey will be instrumental in shaping the conversation at the upcoming February 2024 Tennessee Ambulance Service Association (TASA) Mid-winter Leadership Conference, where we will share the findings with EMS leaders from across the state.

Your participation in this survey will not only contribute to a better understanding of AI in TN EMS today but also help in paving the way for innovative, safe, and improved emergency medical services of tomorrow.

To participate, please use the follow link or QR code.  We deeply appreciate your time and your commitment to advancing EMS in Tennessee. Thank you for considering this request, and we look forward to your valuable contribution.

Assessing Artificial Intelligence (AI) in EMS