MONTGOMERY — State Rep. Ed Oliver's (R-Dadeville) bill that would set rules for how emergency ground ambulance services are paid for in Alabama passed the House Health Committee on Wednesday.
According to Oliver, HB400 would provide adequate access to health care in rural areas. The bill would require health insurance companies to pay ambulance providers a set amount and would ban “surprise billing," meaning ambulance companies would have to accept the insurance payment as full payment and could only charge patients their normal in-network copay, deductible or coinsurance amount.
If passed, the law would be repealed after three years, allowing it to be studied to be improved and expanded.
State Rep. Susan DuBose (R-Hoover), who opposed the bill in its entirety, supported some aspects of it. She raised concerns about the possibility that the insurers would raise costs on consumers.
"When we add these mandates to insurance companies, how much does it end up costing the consumer?" she asked, later adding, "My question is what will be the cost to the consumer, what will be added to their premiums when we include these extra mandates?"
"It could be as little as 60 cents or as much as $5, but do you just not want to have the health care?" Oliver replied.
DuBose asked about adding an insurance rider to provide additional coverage, which Oliver said he would recommend.
The two agreed that adding mandates for insurance companies was dangerous and that the free market was failing the people in rural health care.
The bill passed the committee and will head to the floor for debate.
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