Academy of International Mobile Healthcare Integration

𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐄 𝐀𝐈𝐌𝐇𝐈 𝐖𝐞𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐫: 𝐏𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 “𝐈” 𝐈𝐧 𝐀𝐈𝐌𝐇𝐈 - 𝐀 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐀𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐄𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐌𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐃𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔.𝐒., 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐝𝐚, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔.𝐊. 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Emergency Medical Services (EMS) play a critical role in public health and safety, yet their structure, funding, and effectiveness vary significantly across different countries. This webinar offers a comparative analysis of EMS delivery in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, examining key differences in system design, response times, accessibility, and patient outcomes.   Join industry experts from the U.S., Canada and the U.K as we explore: ✅ Economic models and involvement of government oversight ✅ Response times and clinical metrics across the three countries ✅ Differences in 911, 999, and 112 emergency call systems ✅ Retention and Recruitment ✅ Formal recognitions of paramedicine as a profession ✅ Challenges and best practices in EMS coordination and innovation (MIH/CP)   Whether you're a healthcare professional, policymaker, or simply interested in how emergency care systems function globally, this discussion will provide valuable insights into the strengths and challenges of each approach.   📅 Date: Tuesday, April 22, 2025 🕒 Time: 12n ET 📍 Location: Zoom Webinar   Register now to gain a deeper understanding of how EMS systems operate and what lessons can be learned to improve emergency care worldwide! Register in advance for this webinar: https://lnkd.in/geYXuHGv After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. PWW Advisory Group

U.S. Rep Jason Smith Presented with AIMHI's 2025 Legislator of the Year Award This evening at the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians EMS on the Hill Day, Academy of International Mobile Healthcare Integration President Rob Lawrence presented Congressman Jason Smith (R-MO), Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, AIMHI's 2025 Legislator of the Year Award. Rep. Smith, his staff and his committee have been exceptional advocates for EMS, introducing the Emergency Medical Services Reimbursement for On-Scene and Support Act (Medicare Reimbursement for Treatment in Place) and the Improving Access to Emergency Medical Services Act (Community Paramedicine funding bill). His committee also hosted a field hearing on EMS and EMS reimbursement at an EMS facility where committee members heard 3 hours of testimony about EMS and the EMS reimbursement model. Congressman Smith and his staff are ardent EMS advocates. One of his key staff members, Ari Kirsh, accepted the award on behalf of Representative Smith. Ari has been the driving force behind much of the committee's EMS legislation work, and he attended, in full, the recent webinar on the results from the Ground Ambulance Data Collection System (GADCS) report. Click here to see Ari's acceptance video message: https://lnkd.in/ghmzWTXx Click here to watch the EMS segments of the March 2024 Ways and Means Committee field hearing: https://lnkd.in/gSTUBbRE Click here to watch the PWW Advisory Group's GADCS Webinar: https://lnkd.in/dGS-p_t2

It’s unfortunate that there is so much focus on response times, when more evidence-based patient outcome data could be evaluated, such as those contemplated in the 𝐉𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 from 16 EMS, fire, public policy and patient safety organizations on 𝐄𝐌𝐒 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐌𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐁𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 (https://lnkd.in/gYNjiHgQ). Measures for clinical care, patient and provider safety, patient and provider experience and financial outcomes would provide a more balanced evaluation of provider performance. Still, response times goals and measurements, when evaluated as an 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞, should be evidence-based, and tracked and reported from a 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭-𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞, 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐭. Individual time durations such as call processing, activation, drive, and patient access can then be trended over time to identify opportunities for enhancement. ----------------------- 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐒𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐚 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐲 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐚 County and fire district officials are locked in a dispute over how to calculate response times, a key component in evaluating how local ambulance service is performing. March 29, 2025 https://lnkd.in/g9DxnfMp 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰: • Sonoma County's contract with the Sonoma County Fire District for ambulance services is under dispute, affecting the timely release of performance data. • The fire district is arguing the contract does not cover requirements for low-priority calls and wants them thrown out of 2024 performance data. • The county argues that low priority calls make up 40% of all ambulance calls and removing them from the equation would erode public trust. 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐐𝐮𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐰𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭: "When the Board of Supervisors approved the district’s contract in June 2023 after months of contentious debate, both county and fire district officials heralded their partnership as a significant step toward bringing ambulance services under public domain. The benefits would include 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲, 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 and enhanced emergency response." "Under the new contract, which went into effect mid-January 2024, the fire district and county officials must review monthly compliance data and produce a public report. By mid-December, nearly a year into the contract, data still had not been publicly released." PWW Advisory Group

Further news that may indicate significant changes to the GEMT programs in the very near future. Ambulance GEMT programs, including the Managed Care and IGT programs, are part of these referenced State-Directed Medicaid Supplemental Payment Programs. ---------------- 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐩𝐮𝐬𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐮𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐚 𝐌𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐲𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐬 By Maya Goldman 3/26/25 https://lnkd.in/gPMU6TfT 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐐𝐮𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬: "𝐃𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐬: Paragon Health Institute released a report Wednesday characterizing state-directed payments as "legalized Medicaid money laundering." - States can tax providers or use other means to increase their state share of Medicaid funding, which allows the state to draw down additional federal Medicaid dollars. States can then use that extra money to increase payments to providers." 𝐄𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭: “Through an IGT, a local government or government-owned provider transfers money to the state that the state then uses to make much higher Medicaid payments on providers, which are often the very same providers that make the IGT. 𝐈𝐆𝐓𝐬 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐠𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭-𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬.” “The providers, with schemes often developed by consultants, lobby the states to engage in this legalized money laundering apparatus. Historically, states made additional supplemental payments to providers, and they are still a significant component of Medicaid, particularly through the IGT mechanism. As states have largely transitioned Medicaid from fee-for-service to managed care, states are requiring insurers to make extra payments to providers through SDPs.” 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐚 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟔 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐛𝐲 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬: “The specified 19 classes of providers [eligible for SDPs] are those that provide inpatient hospital services, laboratory and x-ray services, 𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬, and other health care items or services for which the state has enacted a licensing or certification fee. https://lnkd.in/ge5DB5mT https://lnkd.in/gJ8hgdFW

DispatchHealth offers in-home urgent care and is a key partner in some EMS-Based MIH programs, including Treatment in Place initiatives.   Medically Home has agreements with several EMS agencies across the country to provide Hospital at Home support using Mobile Healthcare Paramedics, specifically allowed under the currently extended CMS waiver referenced in the news report. ------------------ 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐇𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐞, 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧'𝐬 𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥-𝐚𝐭-𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 By Emma Beavins  Mar 18, 2025   https://lnkd.in/gY7ahyzt   DispatchHealth and Medically Home, two leaders in the hospital at home industry, are merging, the companies announced Tuesday.   The companies leverage telehealth, virtual call centers and devices in patients' homes to provide high-complexity care, including for oncology patients and organ transplant patients. Dispatch Health and Medically Home tout that their merger creates the nation’s most comprehensive high-acuity care platform delivering care to patients at home.   Once the merger closes, expected midyear, the combined entity will continue under the name DispatchHealth. It will care for patients in 50 major metropolitan areas with 40 health systems and connections to most major health plans and value-based care entities. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.   Together, the companies will save up to 62,000 inpatient hospital stays per year and reduce the cost per patient by up to 30% per month by providing acute hospital-level care in patients’ homes.   This comes as the federal government recently extended the waiver for hospitals to get Medicare dollars by participating in its Acute Hospital Care At Home program. Starting during the pandemic, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) began offering incentives for hospitals to shift qualifying patients out of facilities and to care for them at home due to hospital overcrowding.   The program has been repeatedly extended since the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency, albeit for short periods of time. Most recently, Congress extended the CMS’ hospital at home program through Sept. 30, 2025, though there is bipartisan support for a five-year extension.   PWW Advisory Group

The Academy of International Mobile Healthcare Integration Reimbursement Committee, led by Committee Chair, Bill Mergendahl of ProEMS, is hosting a series of ‘Best Practice’ presentations from subject matter experts for all AIMHI members, which we are making available here for the benefit of industry leaders. The first "Best Practices" session was held on March 12, 2025 on the topic of Best Practices for Claim Scrubbing, Third Party Liability, and Deductible Management. Our Subject Matter Expert was Brian Choate, Managing Partner of Solutions Group Services. Brian shared excellent insights, and Committee Chair Mergendahl provided data on the results of these best practices. Click here to view the 55 minute presentation video: https://lnkd.in/gHPRj63M PWW Advisory Group

𝐀𝐈𝐌𝐇𝐈 𝐒𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐋𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐀𝐦𝐛𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐌𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐑𝐞𝐢𝐦𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐔.𝐒. 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐄𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐞 https://lnkd.in/g5ZwvkGF PWW Advisory Group

There has been much discussion about the future of Ground Emergency Medical Transport (GEMT) programs since the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS), Office of the Inspector General (OIG) announced audits of GEMT program in 2023, following a memo from CMS to state Medicaid Directors in 2022 (𝒄𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒌 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒐). The most recent GEMT reimbursement allocations in Texas may provide insight into the future direction of GEMT programs across states that currently have these programs, and those who have pending applications for Medicaid State Plan Amendments with CMS. PWW Advisory Group has done a deep dive into the changes in the Texas GEMT program, including what the changes were, and how the Federal Settlement Amounts and distribution of GEMT funds based on revised cost and revenue reporting methodology, and the impact on GEMT reimbursements to participating agencies. 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐆𝐄𝐌𝐓 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐬? Read the full analysis here: https://lnkd.in/gRW8AgCG CMS Memo on GEMT cost allocations: https://lnkd.in/gQAaTHjB Informational summary data tables:

Interesting approach – - Right Patient - Right Care - Right Time Hospital’s Advanced Care Practitioner re-assessing non-urgent patients at an ambulance ‘Pit Stop’ outside the ED to see if the patient really needs the ED or can be best seen in another part of the hospital. Their finding is that 20 – 40% of the patients being brough to the hospital by ambulance were non-urgent, and they were able to redirect 35% of the ambulance patients away from the ED to another specialized part of the hospital. Perhaps another option for hospitals with long ambulance ED delays? https://lnkd.in/gcFHwmEg Tip of the hat to Rob Lawrence for sharing this Reel! PWW Advisory Group

Absolutely inspirational day with the Academy of International Mobile Healthcare Integration Board at AIMHI member agency, Mecklenburg EMS Agency (Medic). Chock full of ideas and action plans to help drive EMS transformation! Be on the lookout for upcoming excellent educational webinars on performance metrics and benchmarking, transformative GEMT models, international models of EMS delivery, cybersecurity and best practices in revenue cycle management! PWW Advisory Group