Connecticut SB 429: AN ACT CONCERNING MEDICAID REIMBURSEMENT FOR EMERGENCY MEDICAL TRANSPORTATION.

Bill Text

Senate Bill No. 429 
 
Public Act No. 26-88 
 
 
AN    ACT    CONCERNING    MEDICAID    REIMBURSEMENT    FOR 
EMERGENCY MEDICAL TRANSPORTATION. 
Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  in  General 
Assembly convened: 
 
Section 1. Section 17b-273 of the general statutes is repealed and the 
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2026): 
(a) On  and  after  April  1,  1983,  the  Commissioner  of  Social  Services 
shall increase the payment rate for ambulance rides eligible under the 
state medical assistance program. Subject to federal approval, beginning 
with the fiscal year commencing July 1, 2015, the Commissioner of Social 
Services  shall,  within  available  appropriations,  revise  the  payment 
methodology  for  ambulance  services  under  the  Medicaid  program  to 
apply a relative value unit system similar to the payment methodology 
used  in  the  Medicare  program.  The  basic  life  support  nonemergency 
transport shall be designated as the base rate with the relative value unit 
system applied to basic life support nonemergency transports, basic life 
support  emergency  transports,  advanced  life  support  nonemergency 
transports, advanced life support emergency transports and paramedic 
intercept  services.  For  purposes  of  this  section,  "relative  value  unit" 
means a numeric value for ambulance services relative to the value of a 
base level ambulance service. 

Senate Bill No. 429 
 
Public Act No. 26-88 2 of 2 
 
(b)  On  and  after  July  1,  2026,  the  Commissioner  of  Social  Services 
shall base the out-of-district mileage calculation for ambulance services 
reimbursed under the state medical assistance program on the distance 
traveled  by  an  ambulance  with  the  patient  onboard  from  the  point  of 
patient pickup to the destination, rounded to the nearest one-tenth of a 
mile.  An  ambulance  service  may  use  any  reasonable  and  verifiable 
method to document such mileage, including, but not limited to, global 
positioning  system  data, navigation  or  dispatch  computer  systems  or 
commercially available mapping routing programs. The commissioner 
shall require an ambulance service provider to maintain documentation 
of  such  mileage  as  part  of  the  patient  care  record,  including,  but  not 
limited to, a trip report with the name of the patient and street address 
of the patient pickup point and destination. 
 
 
 
Governor's Action: 
Approved June 2, 2026