Protecting Air Ambulance Services for Americans Act of 2025

This legislation seeks to enhance the Medicare payment system for air ambulance services by empowering the Secretary of Health and Human Services to revise the existing fee schedule. This revision would be informed by both previously mandated data and new, comprehensive data collected directly from service providers. The bill requires providers of air ambulance services to submit detailed information every three years, including fixed and operational costs per air ambulance base, service utilization, and revenue obtained from Medicare. Furthermore, it mandates the Secretary to finalize and publish an existing air ambulance data collection rule within six months of enactment, ensuring a robust data foundation for future policy decisions. To further inform improvements, the legislation directs the Government Accountability Office to conduct a study on emergency air ambulance costs. This study will analyze average operating costs, per-transport costs, payor mix, the adequacy of current Medicare payments, and geographic variations, ultimately providing recommendations for optimizing the air ambulance fee schedule.