EMS News Briefs from Mike McEvoy

EMS Coordinator Mike McEvoy, Ph.D., NRP, RN, CCRN
NYSAFC EMS Committee

EMS Education Reg Changes Proposed
Revisions to Part 800 have been posted for public comment. You can see the posting in the New York State Register here. They will remain open for comment until February 4, 2024. Comments can be emailed here. Look here for a longer description of the proposed regulation changes (all of which pertain to training and education).

Surprise Ambulance Bills 
Back in 2020, Congress banned surprise medical bills with the exception of ambulances. New York has, for a much longer period of time, prohibited surprise ambulance bills (i.e., bills from providers who are out of the patient's health insurance network, often with significantly larger than usual charges). However, New York's regs have multiple exceptions. To deal with this issue on a federal level, Congress created the Ground Ambulance Patient Billing Committee, which met throughout 2023. Listen to a podcast with some participants on the committee, including Chief Peter Lawrence, a well known fire service EMS billing expert, here.