Require CMS to update Medicare ambulance payment rates every three years based on current actual cost data to protect access to emergency ambulance services.

Jill N. Tokuda · Hawaii · Democratic

policy impact 0.64 specificity 0.88 extraction confidence 86%

Commitment kind: unknown. Promised action: not established. Promised outcome: not established. Deadline: unknown; not assumed expired.

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Occurrences

The RESCUE Act would require the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to update the ambulance fee schedule every three years based on current, actual cost data... The legislation is co-led by Reps. Jill Tokuda (HI-02)... "We cannot allow outdated Medicare payment rates to jeopardize the air and ground ambulance services our rural and remote communities rely on. The RESCUE Act is essential to protecting access to emergency care when it matters most."

Tokuda co-led the RESCUE Act and said outdated Medicare rates must not jeopardize rural and remote air and ground ambulance services.

Pfluger, Colleagues Introduce the RESCUE Act to Fix Broken Ambulance Payment System | U.S. Representative
primary · press_release · model gpt-5.5

Evidence

legacy_unverified · Source version not recorded · locator unknown

Rep. August Pfluger announced introduction of the Reimbursing Emergency Services for Critical Urgent Encounters (RESCUE) Act. The release says the legislation is co-led by Reps. Jill Tokuda and others, and would require CMS to update the ambulance fee schedule every three years based on current, actual cost data.

Unverified model/legacy excerpt; not proof. AI summary (separate from source): Tokuda took concrete legislative action by co-leading an introduced bill matching the commitment, but the source describes proposed legislation rather than enactment or CMS implementation.

partial same_term A for effort

Pfluger, Colleagues Introduce the RESCUE Act to Fix Broken Ambulance Payment System | U.S. Representative
primary · model gpt-5.5 · confidence 92%

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legacy_unverified · Source version not recorded · locator unknown

The current eCFR display says Title 42 is up to date as of 2026-08-12. Section 414.610 states Medicare ambulance payment is based on the lesser of the actual charge or applicable fee schedule amount, with fee schedule payment equal to a base rate plus mileage and adjustment factors. It further states the conversion factor, air ambulance base rates, and mileage rates are updated annually by a statutory inflation factor.

Unverified model/legacy excerpt; not proof. AI summary (separate from source): As of the lookback window, current federal rules still describe annual inflation-based ambulance fee schedule updates, not a CMS duty to rebase/update Medicare ambulance payment rates every three years using current actual cost data.

unresolved same_term

42 CFR § 414.610 - Basis of payment
secondary · model gpt-5.5 · confidence 90%

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Assessments

Public state: unverified As of unknown · legacy_unverified · . Original AI recommendation (not independently established): never. unknown A for effort

Tokuda co-led introduced federal legislation, the RESCUE Act, that closely matched the promise by requiring CMS to update the ambulance fee schedule every three years using current actual cost data. However, the evidence shows only proposed legislation, not enactment or CMS implementation, and current Medicare ambulance payment rules still use the existing annual inflation-based update structure rather than the promised triennial cost-data rebasing. This is a serious same-term legislative effort but not delivery of the promised outcome.

provider codex_cli · model gpt-5.5 · confidence 90%