CMS selects ambulance provider participants for emergency care model

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has selected 205 ambulance service providers or suppliers, including some AHA members, to participate in the Emergency Triage, Treat, and Transport (ET3) Model. Announced last year, the five-year payment model will enable participating ambulance suppliers and providers to partner with qualified health care practitioners to deliver treatment in place (either on-the-scene or through telehealth) and with alternative destination sites (such as primary care doctors’ offices or urgent-care clinics) to provide care for Medicare beneficiaries following a medical emergency for which they have accessed 911 services. The model also will encourage development of medical triage lines for low-acuity 911 calls in regions where participating ambulance suppliers and providers operate. CMS plans to share the final list of ambulance service participants this spring, and release funding opportunity notices for the other components of the model later this year.