The Honorable Trent Lott 487 Russell Senate Office Building

							September 12, 2006

The Honorable Trent Lott
487 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator Lott:

The undersigned members of Advocates for EMS, a not-for-profit organization founded
to educate elected and appointed officials and the public on important issues affecting
EMS providers, support your efforts to increase Medicare reimbursement for ambulance
service providers.

We support a temporary increase of 5 percent to the rates under the Medicare ambulance
fee schedule as well as passage of the Medicare Ambulance Payment Reform and Rural
Equity Act (S. 1109). We greatly appreciate your efforts to ensure that ambulance service
providers will have both the short and long-term resources necessary to continue to
provide quality health care to the patients and communities which they serve.

Ambulance service providers are currently reimbursed well below the cost of providing
services to Medicare patients. The disparity between the cost of providing services and
Medicare reimbursement is even greater for rural providers who have low transport
volumes. Your legislation would help correct these problems by reimbursing all
ambulance service providers closer to the cost of providing services, establishing
additional reimbursement for rural providers and replacing the current definition of rural
with one that is more applicable to ambulance services. With the pending Government
Accountability Office (GAO) report on the cost of providing ambulance services as its
basis, your legislation would ensure that ambulance service providers maintain their
critical role as first responders and the health care safety net for our nation While S.1109
is part of a long-term solution to the problem, your efforts for a temporary 5 percent
Medicare increase will allow ambulance service providers to preserve their critical role
until the release of the GAO report and permanent relief can be implemented.

Again, thank you for your leadership to increase Medicare reimbursement for ambulance
service providers. If you or your staff have any questions or if we can be of assistance,
please do not hesitate to contact Lisa Meyer with Cornerstone Government Affairs. She
can be reached at (202) 448-9522.
Sincerely,

Advocates for EMS
American Ambulance Association
American Medical Response
Gold Cross Mayo Medical Transport
National Association of EMS Educators
National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians
National Association of State EMS Officials
Rural Metro Corporation
Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association
Wisconsin State EMS Medical Director, Keith Wesley
September 12, 2006

The Honorable Thomas M. Reynolds
332 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Congressman Reynolds:

The undersigned members of Advocates for EMS, a not-for-profit organization founded
to educate elected and appointed officials and the public on important issues affecting
EMS providers, support your efforts to increase Medicare reimbursement for ambulance
service providers.

We support a temporary increase of 5 percent to the rates under the Medicare ambulance
fee schedule as well as passage of the Medicare Ambulance Payment Reform and Rural
Equity Act (H.R. 2014). We greatly appreciate your efforts to ensure that ambulance
service providers will have both the short and long-term resources necessary to continue
to provide quality health care to the patients and communities which they serve.

Ambulance service providers are currently reimbursed well below the cost of providing
services to Medicare patients. The disparity between the cost of providing services and
Medicare reimbursement is even greater for rural providers who have low transport
volumes. Your legislation would correct these problems by reimbursing all ambulance
service providers closer to the cost of providing services, establishing additional
reimbursement for rural providers and replacing the current definition of rural with one
that is more applicable to ambulance services. With the pending Government
Accountability Office (GAO) report on the cost of providing ambulance services as its
basis, your legislation would ensure that ambulance service providers maintain their
critical role as first responders and the health care safety net for our nation. While
H.R. 2014 is the long-term solution to the problem, your efforts for a temporary 5 percent
Medicare increase will allow ambulance service providers to preserve their critical role
until the release of the GAO report and permanent relief can be implemented.

Again, thank you for your leadership to increase Medicare reimbursement for ambulance
service providers. If you or your staff have any questions or if we can be of assistance,
please do not hesitate to contact Lisa Meyer with Cornerstone Government Affairs. She
can be reached at (202) 448-9522.
Sincerely,

Advocates for EMS
American Ambulance Association
American Medical Response
Gold Cross Mayo Medical Transport
National Association of EMS Educators
National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians
National Association of State EMS Officials
Rural Metro Corporation
Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association
Wisconsin State EMS Medical Director, Keith Wesley