Committee advances bill to bar surprise ambulance balance billing, set out‑of‑network payment rules

Representative McCormick, co‑sponsored by Representative Brown, presented House Bill 10‑88 as a consumer‑protection measure to eliminate surprise ambulance balance billing and to create a stable reimbursement framework for both public and private ambulance services.

The bill would prohibit ambulance agencies—public and private—from sending patients balance bills for emergency and nonemergency transports after insurers have paid, establish a default reimbursement floor of 325% of Medicare for out‑of‑network ground ambulance services, and allow locally set rates above that floor if justified by a third‑party cost analysis and adopted through an open local process. The measure would also require insurers to pay political‑subdivision‑adopted rates that meet statutory conditions and to post those rates on a public website.

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