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Acadian Ambulance selected to participate in federal ET3 model

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Posted at 4:07 PM, Mar 04, 2020
and last updated 2020-03-04 17:07:57-05

Acadian Ambulance Service has been selected by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to participate in a new healthcare model pilot program in 12 Louisiana parishes and two Texas counties.

The program will be featured in Acadia, Ascension, Calcasieu, East Baton Rouge, Evangeline, Iberia, Jeff Davis, Lafayette, Livingston, St. Landry, St. Martin, and Vermilion parishes, along with Bexar and Harris counties.

Acadian was one of 205 agencies nationwide selected to participate in the five-year Emergency Triage, Treat, and Transport (ET3) Model, according to a release from Acadian Ambulance. The payment model incorporates a new approach to utilizing the skills, efficiencies and capabilities of emergency medical services providers and their strategic partners in the care of communities through innovation and the use of available alternative care settings.

"We believe this will be a win for both Medicare patients and community healthcare providers. It will allow all providers to utilize their resources in the most efficient and appropriate manner," says Acadian Ambulance Senior VP of Strategic Initiatives and Innovation Asbel Montes.

Under this pilot program in the selected parishes and counties, which will begin this spring, CMS will pay for emergency transport of a Medicare beneficiary to a hospital ED or other destination covered under current Medicare requirements, as well as paying ET3 Model participants to transport a beneficiary to an alternative destination, such as a primary care doctor's office or an urgent care clinic, or initiate and facilitate treatment in place by a qualified health care practitioner, either in-person on-scene or via telehealth.

"We believe this will be a win for both Medicare patients and community healthcare providers. It will allow all providers to utilize their resources in the most efficient and appropriate manner," says Acadian Ambulance Senior VP of Strategic Initiatives and Innovation Asbel Montes.

For more information on the model, click here.