Oregon Second District Congressman Greg Walden has reintroduced legislation he says would ensure that rural ambulance service providers are fairly paid for their services.  The Medicare Ambulance Access, Fraud Prevention, and Reform Act of 2015 would end uncertainty over reimbursement from Medicare by making permanent appropriate rates for the ambulance services.  Walden says under current law, Medicare’s rates to reimburse ambulance services are significantly below the cost of delivering services, especially in rural areas.  To address the shortfall Congress regularly passes temporary legislative fixes to give the ambulance services higher rates.  This legislation would make these rate adjustments permanent to give ambulance providers certainty.  Walden originally introduced this bill last year, but it did not become law before the conclusion of the last session of Congress.  However, the Hood River Republican thinks a bipartisan push to permanently reform reimbursement rates for Medicare providers across the spectrum gives this effort extra momentum.