An Act relative to ambulance service reimbursement

This bill amends Massachusetts law to require health insurers to pay ambulance providers directly for emergency services instead of reimbursing patients who then pay the bills themselves. It establishes that these payments must be made at rates set by the municipality where the patient was transported and allows patients to assign their insurance benefits to the ambulance company even if their policy normally forbids such assignments. Additionally, the legislation restricts how much municipalities can raise their ambulance rates annually by tying increases to a state health care cost benchmark unless approved by the Department of Health and Human Services.