1.1 A bill for an act
1.2 relating to health; increasing medical assistance payment rates for ambulance
1.3 services; amending Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 256B.0625, subdivision 17a.
1.4BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
1.5 Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 256B.0625, subdivision 17a, is amended to
1.6read:
1.7 Subd. 17a.Payment for ambulance services.(a) Medical assistance covers ambulance
1.8services. Providers shall bill ambulance services according to Medicare criteria.
1.9Nonemergency ambulance services shall not be paid as emergencies. Effective for services
1.10rendered on or after July 1, 2001, medical assistance payments for ambulance services shall
1.11be paid at the Medicare reimbursement rate or at the medical assistance payment rate in
1.12effect on July 1, 2000, whichever is greater.
1.13 (b) Effective for services provided on or after July 1, 2016, medical assistance payment
1.14rates for ambulance services identified in this paragraph are increased by five percent.
1.15Capitation payments made to managed care plans and county-based purchasing plans for
1.16ambulance services provided on or after January 1, 2017, shall be increased to reflect this
1.17rate increase. The increased rate described in this paragraph applies to ambulance service
1.18providers whose base of operations as defined in section 144E.10 is located:
1.19 (1) outside the metropolitan counties listed in section 473.121, subdivision 4, and outside
1.20the cities of Duluth, Mankato, Moorhead, St. Cloud, and Rochester; or
1.21 (2) within a municipality with a population of less than 1,000.
1Section 1.
REVISOR AGW/VJ 25-0219301/24/25
State of Minnesota
This Document can be made available
in alternative formats upon request
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
H. F. No. 715
NINETY-FOURTH SESSION
Authored by Backer02/13/2025
The bill was read for the first time and referred to the Committee on Health Finance and Policy 2.1 (c) Effective for services provided statewide on or after January 1, 2026, medical
2.2assistance payment rates for ambulance services are increased by ... percent. Capitation
2.3payments made to managed care plans and county-based purchasing plans for ambulance
2.4services provided on or after January 1, 2026, must be increased to reflect this rate increase.
2.5 (c) (d) Effective for the first day of each calendar quarter in which the price of gasoline
2.6as posted publicly by the United States Energy Information Administration exceeds $3.00
2.7per gallon, the commissioner shall adjust the rate paid per mile in paragraph (a) by one
2.8percent up or down for every increase or decrease of ten cents for the price of gasoline. The
2.9increase or decrease must be calculated using a base gasoline price of $3.00. The percentage
2.10increase or decrease must be calculated using the average of the most recently available
2.11price of all grades of gasoline for Minnesota as posted publicly by the United States Energy
2.12Information Administration.
2.13 (d) (e) Managed care plans and county-based purchasing plans must provide a fuel
2.14adjustment for ambulance services rates when fuel exceeds $3 per gallon. If, for any contract
2.15year, federal approval is not received for this paragraph, the commissioner must adjust the
2.16capitation rates paid to managed care plans and county-based purchasing plans for that
2.17contract year to reflect the removal of this provision. Contracts between managed care plans
2.18and county-based purchasing plans and providers to whom this paragraph applies must
2.19allow recovery of payments from those providers if capitation rates are adjusted in accordance
2.20with this paragraph. Payment recoveries must not exceed the amount equal to any increase
2.21in rates that results from this paragraph. This paragraph expires if federal approval is not
2.22received for this paragraph at any time.
2Section 1.
REVISOR AGW/VJ 25-0219301/24/25