Ambulance transports COVID-19 effective date for modifier

Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page.

Health Care Authority (HCA) logo

Apple Health (Medicaid) Provider Alert

Attention Ambulance Transportation providers:

The Health Care Authority is reissuing this Provider Alert to change the effective dates to on and after February 29, 2020. No other information has changed.

Effective for dates of service on and after February 29, 2020, the Health Care Authority (HCA) is temporarily adding modifier CR for catastrophe/disaster-related ambulance transports related to COVID-19.

  • When transporting suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases or when transferring non-COVID-19 patients to clear beds in a hospital for COVID-19 cases, providers must include modifier CR (catastrophe/disaster-related) in addition to any other required modifiers.

  • The claim must include a comment in the claim notes field indicating the transport was related to COVID-19.

See HCA’s Information about novel coronavirus (COVID-19) webpage for updated information regarding COVID-19.  

This update will be reflected in the April 1, 2020 version of the Ambulance Transportation Billing Guide.