Monday, 01 February 2010 17:00

Supes Look at Air Medical Reimbursement Bill

Written by 
Rate this item
(0 votes)
slide4-supes_look_at_air_medical_reimbursement_bill.pngAmador County – The Amador County Board of Supervisors will discuss and possibly take action today on a bill which would augment medical reimbursements for air medical transportation services throughout the state. Assembly Bill 1153, as proposed by California State Assemblymember Jim Beall, “would provide enhanced Medi-cal reimbursement for air medical transportation/air ambulance services using an increase in fines levied at the county level and remitted to the state.” The item was introduced to the agenda by District 2 Supervisor Richard Forster, county delegate to the Regional Council of Rural Counties, an organization which supports the measure. He says the measure will tack a $3 fee to traffic offenses to go into Med-Cal payments for air service organizations like CALSTAR. “Medical is what’s not being covered the way it should be anymore by the federal government,” says Forster. “Hospitals are in bad shape because of that, but medical air ambulance services were also being paid by the hospitals and that’s no longer happening,” he added. The bill would require “each county board of supervisors to establish in the county treasury an emergency air medical transportation act fund into which the penalty collected pursuant to this bill would be deposited.” The bill states that, “by requiring counties to create emergency air medical transportation act funds and then depositing the levy imposed by this bill into those funds, this bill would create a state-mandated local program.” Forster said the board will likely seek more information on the reimbursement scheme proposed in the bill before deciding whether to issue a statement of support. He said some board members stated previously that they did not like the new fees attached on top of the existing traffic violation fees. Discussion on this topic will continue today. Also on today’s agenda, the board will discuss and possibly take action relative to the county’s recent federal appropriations requests. These are intersection improvements at Prospect Drive and Highway 88, a solar project for the new Amador County Transit Center and general improvements for American’s with Disability Act access. The board will also hear from the Amador Council of Tourism regarding funding sources to complete the California State Fair booth for 2010. The board may also approve the donation of space at the County Administration Building to assist residents in filling out their census forms. Finally, the board will look at a Fire Protection Reimbursement Agreement with the California Department of Forestry and CalFire. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Read 423 times Last modified on Tuesday, 02 February 2010 05:43
Tom