HR7277

The "Emergency Medical Services Reimbursement for On-Scene and Support Act" amends Section 1861(s)(7) of the Social Security Act to provide Medicare coverage for ambulance services that do not include transportation. This means that if an ambulance responds to a call, provides medical care on-site, but does not transport the patient, Medicare will now reimburse for those services. This is a direct expansion of billable services for ambulance providers, creating a new revenue stream for services that were previously uncompensated. The effective date for this change is January 1, 2026. The money trail for this bill is direct: Medicare will pay ambulance service providers for on-scene care without transport. This expands the total addressable market for ambulance services under Medicare. Companies that operate ambulance services and rely on Medicare reimbursement are directly positioned to capture this new revenue. There is no specific appropriation; rather, it is an expansion of covered services under existing Medicare funding mechanisms. The reimbursement rate is specified as "comparable to the transport reimbursement," indicating a significant new revenue opportunity. Historically, similar expansions of Medicare coverage for specific services have led to increased revenue for the providers of those services. For example, when Medicare expanded coverage for telehealth services during the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, telehealth providers like Teladoc Health ($TDOC) saw significant stock price increases, with $TDOC surging over 100% between March and July 2020. While this bill is not as broad as telehealth expansion, it establishes a new category of reimbursable service for ambulance companies. This bill is sponsored by Rep. Balint (D-VT) and has 8 cosponsors, indicating moderate legislative momentum, though it is still in committee. Specific winners include publicly traded ambulance service providers. Acadian Ambulance Service, a subsidiary of Acadian Healthcare, stands to gain from increased Medicare reimbursement for non-transport services. Envision Healthcare ($EVH), through its American Medical Response (AMR) subsidiary, will also benefit. LabCorp ($LH), which has a significant presence in emergency medical services through its various subsidiaries, will also see a positive impact. There are no direct losers from this legislation, as it expands coverage rather than restricting it or increasing costs for other entities. This bill has been referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Committee on Ways and Means. The next step is for one or both committees to consider the bill. If it passes committee, it would then move to a floor vote in the House of Representatives. Given the effective date of January 1, 2026, the legislative process would need to conclude in 2025 for providers to fully prepare for the new reimbursement structure.