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No
word on Medicare reimbursement advances By
MIKE SWIFT GLASGOW — Jay Klein, from Lieutenant Governor Steven Henry's Office in Frankfort, advised the Kentucky Ambulance Providers Association Friday afternoon that the Chicago office of HCFA had not yet made a decision on granting reimbursement advances to some eighteen Kentucky ambulance providers who had submitted requests for help. Meanwhile, as denials from AdminaStar continue, the reimbursement crisis for Kentucky's ambulance providers deepens as news of provider's financial woes continue to surface from throughout the state. Friday, Knox County joined previously reported Henderson County in declaring a financial emergency for their ambulance service that will necessitate immediate financial relief. (See related article.) In an effort to help obtain reimbursement relief for providers, Congressional representatives from Senator Mitch McConnell, Senator Jim Bunning and Representative Ernie Fletcher will meet at Anderson County Ambulance Service in Lawrenceburg on Monday with several of the state's hardest hit providers. The purpose of their meeting is to obtain first hand reports and other documentation of problem issues in order to work on a speedy resolution of the reimbursement crisis. The meeting is scheduled from 8:00 - 9:00 a.m. EST at the Anderson County Ambulance Service which is located on Hwy. 127 in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. In a related issue, KAPA urges all Kentucky ambulance providers, both PART A and PART B, to refer to the web site: http://www.hcfa.gov/medlearn/refamb.htm for copies of the training manuals that HCFA has used to train both their intermediaries and their carriers (including AdminaStar) on the reimbursement rules for the new national fee schedule. Although there are a number of pages contained in these manuals, they reveal a wealth of information that will be critical to claim submission as currently proposed under the yet to be implemented new national fee schedule. Total understanding of the new fee schedule by providers will be critical for the survival of the entire ambulance industry.
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