State lawmakers are hitting the pause button on a controversial section of insurance reform bill.
House Bill 1372 included a provision that would tie all of the state’s ambulance costs to in-network rates. The bill passed the House last month.
The Senate Committee on Insurance and Financial Institutions decided that provision will be moved to a summer study committee.
“So the concern was, with the significant decrease in insurance reimbursements for ambulances, is that surprise billing, if you will, being passed onto the consumer at a significant level,” says Ranking Member Senator Andy Zay (R-Wabash County).
Zay says it may take longer for consumers to pay off their ambulance bills if they shoulder the brunt of the cost for care.
“A lot of the ambulance services are at a narrow threshold as far as profitability, and their ability to exist,” he says.
The Indiana Emergency Medical Services Association testified against the legislation last week before it was amended. The rest of the bill will move on through the committee.
