PROVIDING APPROPRIATE COVERAGE OF RURAL AIR AMBULANCE SERVICES.

SEC. 415. PROVIDING APPROPRIATE COVERAGE OF RURAL AIR AMBULANCE SERVICES.(a) Coverage.—Section 1834(l) (42 U.S.C. 1395m(l)), as amended by subsections (a), (b), (c), and (d) of section 414, is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:“(14) Providing appropriate coverage of rural air ambulance services.—“(A) In general.—The regulations described in section 1861(s)(7) shall provide, to the extent that any ambulance services (whether ground or air) may be covered under such section, that a rural air ambulance service (as defined in subparagraph (C)) is reimbursed under this subsection at the air ambulance rate if the air ambulance service—“(i) is reasonable and necessary based on the health condition of the individual being transported at or immediately prior to the time of the transport; and“(ii) complies with equipment and crew requirements established by the Secretary.“(B) Satisfaction of requirement of medically necessary.—The requirement of subparagraph (A)(i) is deemed to be met for a rural air ambulance service if—“(i) subject to subparagraph (D), such service is requested by a physician or other qualified medical personnel (as specified by the Secretary) who reasonably determines or certifies that the individual’s condition is such that the time needed to transport the individual by land or the instability of transportation by land poses a threat to the individual’s survival or seriously endangers the individual’s health; or“(ii) such service is furnished pursuant to a protocol that is established by a State or regional emergency medical service (EMS) agency and recognized or approved by the Secretary under which the use of an air ambulance is recommended, if such agency does not have an ownership interest in the entity furnishing such service.“(C) Rural air ambulance service defined.—For purposes of this paragraph, the term ‘rural air ambulance service’ means fixed wing and rotary wing air ambulance service in which the point of pick up of the individual occurs in a rural area (as defined in section 1886(d)(2)(D)) or in a rural census tract of a metropolitan statistical area (as determined under the most recent modification of the Goldsmith Modification, originally published in the Federal Register on February 27, 1992 (57 Fed. Reg. 6725)).“(D) Limitation.—“(i) In general.—Subparagraph (B)(i) shall not apply if there is a financial or employment relationship between the person requesting the rural air ambulance service and the entity furnishing the ambulance 117 STAT. 2282 service, or an entity under common ownership with the entity furnishing the air ambulance service, or a financial relationship between an immediate family member of such requester and such an entity.“(ii) Exception.—Where a hospital and the entity furnishing rural air ambulance services are under common ownership, clause (i) shall not apply to remuneration (through employment or other relationship) by the hospital of the requester or immediate family member if the remuneration is for provider-based physician services furnished in a hospital (as described in section 1887) which are reimbursed under part A and the amount of the remuneration is unrelated directly or indirectly to the provision of rural air ambulance services.”.(b) Conforming Amendment.—Section 1861(s)(7) (42 U.S.C. 1395x(s)(7)) is amended by inserting “, subject to section 1834(l)(14),” after “but”.(c) Effective Date.—The amendments made by this subsection shall apply to services furnished on or after January 1, 2005.