The House Public Health Committee inserted language last week regarding insurance carrier payments to ambulance providers into an unrelated bill, Senate Bill 275. The Chamber opposed the language inserted into the bill, especially as a committee amendment this late in the legislative process. The amendment adopted in committee would have set a required rate for ambulance providers to be paid by insurance carriers.
Working with allies, including the Insurance Institute of Indiana and the Indiana Manufacturers Association, we helped remove this dangerous language from the bill on a second reading amendment.
This was an unprecedented move to create an assignment of benefits by requiring that insurance carriers pay ambulance providers directly, even without the presence of a contract. We opposed the statutory increase of costs by requiring out-of-network ambulance providers be paid at a set rate. The Chamber had significant concerns this cost would be mutualized among small, fully insured employers. This amendment encouraged ambulance providers to stay out of network and not contract with a health plan. It also did nothing to protect Hoosiers who could still be balance billed, even with the increased payments to ambulance providers.
Additionally, this amendment was a last-minute legislative move that hurts Hoosiers and small employers. This language has been filed as a stand-alone bill in past sessions and has not garnered support through the normal legislative process. We will continue to look out for similar language during the late stages of this legislative session and work to defeat it.
