New Hampshire § 420-J-21 - Section 420-J:21 Rate Schedule Established for Certain Ground Ambulance Providers.

§ 420-J-21. Section 420-J:21 Rate Schedule Established for Certain Ground Ambulance Providers.

I. There is hereby established a rate schedule applicable to all health carriers doing business in the state to reimburse participating and enrolling ground ambulance providers. [Paragraph I(a) repealed by 2025, 262:2, II, effective January 1, 2028.] (a) Beginning January 1, 2026, through December 31, 2027, participating and enrolling ground ambulance providers shall be reimbursed for ambulance services at a temporary rate schedule of 3.25 times the Medicare rate that is current as of the date of service. (b) Beginning January 1, 2028, participating ground ambulance providers shall be reimbursed for ambulance services at a rate established by the commissioner. The commissioner shall adopt rules under RSA 541-A with an effective date of January 1, 2028, that establish a statewide, cost-based rate schedule for health carriers to use in reimbursing participating ground ambulance providers that implements the rate schedule recommended by the independent accounting and actuarial expert retained pursuant to RSA 420-J:26. (c) Beginning January 1, 2029, and annually thereafter, the commissioner shall adjust the participating ground ambulance provider rate for inflation using the general consumer price index as reported by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. The commissioner shall publish the updated rate by bulletin before January 1 each year. II. Nothing shall prevent health carriers and ground ambulance providers from voluntarily negotiating an alternative agreed upon rate schedule. III. Health carriers may apply cost sharing for ambulance services. IV. For the purpose of determining cost sharing amounts, the rates established in this section shall be considered the allowed amount. V. Ambulance providers shall be responsible for collecting any cost sharing associated with the ground ambulance services.