This bill creates a new rural access to emergency medical transport grant program by adding a section to chapter 74.09 RCW. The program, to begin January 1, 2027 and operate only as amounts are specifically appropriated, is to be created and administered by “the authority” named in chapter 74.09 RCW (the extracted text does not identify the agency by name). It provides supplemental payments to public and private ground emergency medical transportation providers that serve people enrolled in medical assistance programs under chapter 74.09 RCW who live in “frontier counties” as defined in RCW 43.160.020. Supplemental payments are calculated as the difference between (a) the rate the transportation provider received from the medical assistance programs under chapter 74.09 RCW for the transport and (b) the Medicare rate for the same service. The authority must establish criteria for provider eligibility, which transports are eligible for reimbursement (transports must originate within a frontier county), how supplemental payment rates are calculated, and how funds are prioritized when appropriations are insufficient. Prioritization must emphasize paying claims in the order they are submitted to the authority. The extracted text does not identify the specific authority by name, the exact new section number, definitions of “ground emergency medical transportation providers,” application or documentation procedures, funding amounts, or administrative deadlines, so those details are unclear from the provided material.

Starting January 1, 2027, the state would run a grant program that can make extra payments to public and private ground emergency medical transport providers who take people covered by the state’s medical assistance program and start trips in designated frontier counties. Those extra payments would be the gap between what the medical assistance program paid the provider and the Medicare rate for the same trip, subject to whatever money the Legislature actually provides. The agency referred to as “the authority” would set who qualifies, which trips are eligible, how the payments are calculated, and how to prioritize payments if money is limited. The most affected parties are ground emergency transport providers in frontier counties, who could see an increase in revenue when the program is funded, potentially helping them keep services available in remote areas. The administering authority will have new responsibilities to create rules and process claims, and providers face the risk that payments are uncertain because the program only operates if the Legislature appropriates funds and key details (which authority runs it, exact provider definitions, application and documentation rules, and funding levels) are not specified in the text provided. If appropriations run short, claims will be paid in the order they are submitted, which may leave later claims unpaid or delayed.