The federal Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) was established by Congress after World War I to provide a system of benefits for our veterans, including a wide range of health care services—including essential EMS and ambulance services.

But these essential health benefits veterans have come to rely on are now being threatened by the VA itself under a new rule set to go into effect this February. That rule, titled “Change in Rates VA Pays for Special Modes of Transportation,” will greatly slash the amount of reimbursement that the VA provides for needed ambulance service for our veterans, causing great harm to EMS agencies across the country. 

This huge reduction in payments will create significant hardship for our EMS agencies. It will also likely reduce access for veterans to essential ambulance services—and potentially leave veterans with significant out-of-pocket expenses for essential ambulance services.

The new rule and the resulting reimbursement reduction will cause ambulance services in Pennsylvania to suffer an approximate 60 percent reduction in reimbursement from the current payments they now receive. This is a direct financial hit that will further worsen the existing financial crisis that EMS is suffering across our commonwealth and nationwide. 

The result: EMS agencies that are now barely hanging on financially could close their doors or reduce services, leaving less access to much-needed care and medical transportation for our veterans.

The negative impact this will have on our veterans is huge. Pennsylvania ranks fourth among the states in veteran population, with over 813,000 as of 2020. We also have a high number of VA service medical facilities, such as hospitals, nursing homes and clinics, compared to other states. So the impact of this disastrous action by the VA is particularly acute in Pennsylvania. 

The Ambulance Association of Pennsylvania (AAP), made up of over 200 EMS agencies statewide, is advocating that this harmful VA rule be stopped. Despite numerous meetings between the VA and ambulance industry representatives, as well as formal requests to delay the new rule, the VA has not budged.

On November 2, several ambulance services from Texas and Pennsylvania filed a formal motion in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to delay the rule. 

The AAP advocates that the rule be withdrawn at least until a thorough independent study of ambulance service costs—which is already underway by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services—can be completed. 

Legislation has also been introduced in Congress to stop this harmful new benefit-cutting rule from going into effect. Last week, U.S. Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, secured a bipartisan amendment to protect veterans’ access to lifesaving emergency medical transportation services. The “VA Emergency Transportation Act” would prohibit the VA from implementing the rule that will reimburse air and ground ambulance services at rates far below their costs.

Our veterans and our EMS agencies which serve them with lifesaving emergency medical care and transportation deserve better. They deserve more than our respect and admiration for their sacrifices to protect our freedom. Our veterans also deserve to have the health care benefits they so critically need—including air and ground ambulance service whenever it is needed.

We encourage all EMS agencies, veterans and citizens to contact their federal legislators. Tell them to support the legislation to stop this rule now and preserve the benefits that our veterans deserve. 

Heather Sharar is the executive director of the Ambulance Association of Pennsylvania.