Hochul signs bill to streamline payments to ambulance-service providers

ALBANY, N.Y. — Gov. Kathy Hochul this week signed a bill that will streamline payments to ambulance-service providers.

The measure “authorizes payments to nonparticipating or nonpreferred providers of ambulance services licenses under Article 30 of the public health law,” per a Monday statement from United New York Ambulance Network (UNYAN).

The new law ensures that responding ambulance-service companies receive direct payment for all emergency ambulance-service transports “upon submission of an invoice to the insurance company without the need for the responding ambulance company to be a preferred provider.”

New York State Assemblywoman Marianne Buttenschon (D–Marcy) on Tuesday also announced the signing, adding that she co-sponsored the bill.

Buttenschon’s office explained that insurance companies previously sent the payment to the patient and the patient paid the ambulance provider. Under the new law, the provider is directly compensated. The measure “removes the impracticality of expecting every emergency medical service provider to wait for payment from the patient,” per Buttenschon’s office.

“We all rely on our first responders to provide services during medical emergencies.” Buttenschon said. “This law mandates swift reimbursement for the ambulance services that provide these vital services. Removing the unnecessary hurdles provides financial stability for ambulance providers while maintaining the availability of reliable, effective emergency medical service for all New Yorkers.”

Jeffrey Call, chairperson of the United New York Ambulance Network (UNYAN), on Monday issued a statement about the signing, thanking Hochul and saying emergency medical service providers will no longer have to wonder if they’ll be paid for the services “they are mandated to provide.”

“Now, no matter if an ambulance service provider is ‘in-network’ or ‘out-of-network,’ reimbursement for every response will come directly from the health-insurance company. Patients are no longer forced to be the middleman in a broken payment process that oftentimes left out ambulance providers,” Call said.