Wichita Standard

On Friday, the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) announced a delay in the implementation of a rule change to reimbursement rates for special mode transportation, including air and ground ambulances, until 2029. U.S. Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.), the ranking member and chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee respectively, have consistently advocated for this delay to protect rural veterans' access to emergency medical transportation services.

“While there is still significant work to do, I am pleased VA has decided to delay the implementation of a rule that would negatively affect veterans’ ability to receive emergency transportation to lifesaving care,” said Sen. Moran. “My colleagues and I recommended this delay to allow VA to establish sensible parameters when setting air ambulance reimbursement rates. It is critical that rural operators are able to offer their services to the VA and veterans are receiving lifesaving care when they need it most.”

“Emergency air and ground transportation services in Montana and rural America can be the difference between life and death,” said Sen. Tester. “VA’s rushed roll-out of its rate change for these services could have been the final straw for providers serving rural America, and I’m glad to see VA answering our call to fix this issue. VA still has a lot more work to do, and I’ll continue pushing my VA Emergency Transportation Access Act to ensure VA gets this rule right for veterans and anyone who calls rural America home.”

The VA initially delayed the implementation of this rule from February 2024 to February 2025. This new delay until 2029 will provide more time for collaboration with Congress on implementing the rule in a manner that ensures access and availability of lifesaving emergency transportation for veterans in rural areas is feasible and affordable.