---
title: Medicare Still Pays for Ambulance Rides Using Costs From 1998
description: A bipartisan bill would require CMS to reprice ground and air ambulance work every three years, replacing rates set from 1998 cost data.
author: Darie Nani (Editor-in-Chief)
updated: 2026-07-29T01:14:34.203Z
canonical: https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/medicare-ambulance-rates-1998-rescue-act
image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/medicare-ambulance-rates-1998-61111.webp
categories: Politics
content_type: News
region: United States
publication: Sovereign Magazine
access: members
schema_type: Article
---

Medicare pays for an ambulance ride in 2026 using cost data collected in 1998. The fee schedule that sets those rates [has not been updated since 2002](https://pfluger.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=3021), and a bipartisan bill introduced in the House on July 28 would require the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to reset them every three years against current, actual costs.

The Reimbursing Emergency Services for Critical Urgent Encounters Act, numbered HR 9970 by its sponsors, was introduced by Rep. August Pfluger of Texas and co-led by seven other members from both parties: Jill Tokuda of Hawaii, Beth Van Duyne of Texas, Kim Schrier of Washington, John Joyce of Pennsylvania, Brad Schneider of Illinois, Claudia Tenney of New York and Terri Sewell of Alabama.

Fuel, equipment, staffing and vehicle costs have all climbed since the rates were set, Pfluger says, widening the gap between what it costs to answer a call and what Medicare pays for it.

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