Bill > HB400

This bill aims to regulate ground ambulance services by prohibiting balance billing and establishing minimum reimbursement rates from health care insurers to emergency medical service providers, effective October 1, 2026. Balance billing occurs when a provider bills a patient for the difference between their charge and what an insurance company pays. The bill mandates that health care insurers must contract with any willing emergency medical service provider and sets minimum reimbursement rates for emergency ground transport and "treat in place" (assessing and providing basic life support without transport) at 200% of the Medicare Ambulance Fee Schedule rate for in-network providers, and 180% for out-of-network providers, starting October 1, 2026. Importantly, emergency medical service providers, whether in-network or out-of-network, will be prohibited from billing patients for any amount beyond their in-network cost-sharing, meaning insurers will be responsible for the full payment to out-of-network providers, minus the patient's expected copay or deductible. The bill also requires both providers and insurers to submit annual reports on their operations and finances to the Alabama Department of Public Health, with the financial information kept confidential, and mandates a study on the impact of these provisions, with all sections set to be repealed on June 1, 2029.

Health and Social Services

https://alison.legislature.state.al.us/bill-search