A new bill filed by State Rep. Larry W. Potts in the North Carolina House seeks to regulate reimbursement rates for emergency medical transportation services to ensure fair payments, according to the North Carolina State House.
The bill, filed as HB 489 on March 24 during the 2025 regular session, was formally listed with the short title: ‘Insurance Coverage Emergency Ambulance Trans.’
The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.
In essence, the bill mandates that health benefit plans must establish a minimum reimbursement rate for emergency medical transportation services provided by out-of-network ambulance providers. This rate must be at least 100% of the rate set by local authorities or, if not set, based on either 400% of the Medicare rate or the provider’s billed charges, whichever is lower. Additionally, insurers must pay ambulance providers directly and cannot impose higher cost-sharing on covered persons beyond $100 or 10% of the reimbursement rate. The policy is effective Oct. 1, 2025, for contracts and services from that date forward.
Of the four sponsors of this bill, Donny Lambeth proposed the most bills (32) during the 2025 regular session.
Bills in North Carolina follow a multi-step process before becoming law. A lawmaker starts by filing a bill, which is assigned to a committee for review. The bill must be read three times in each chamber. If one chamber changes the bill after the other passes it, both must agree on the final version. Once both chambers approve the same bill, it goes to the governor, who has 10 days (or 30 if the legislature is not in session) to sign, veto, or let it become law without a signature.
You can read more about the bills and other measures here.
Potts, a Republican, was elected to the North Carolina State House in 2017 to represent the state’s 81st House district, replacing previous state representative Rayne Brown.
| Authors | Bill Number | Date Filed | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| Larry W. Potts, Cody Huneycutt, Donnie Loftis, and Donny Lambeth | HB 489 | 03/24/2025 | Insurance Coverage Emergency Ambulance Trans. |
| Larry W. Potts and John Sauls | HB 485 | 03/24/2025 | Adult Care Home Medicaid PCS Coverage. |
| Larry W. Potts, Carla D. Cunningham, Donna McDowell White, and Donny Lambeth | HB 396 | 03/13/2025 | Nursing Fellows & Curric. Support Funds/WSSU. |
| Larry W. Potts, Carla D. Cunningham, Mitchell S. Setzer, and Tricia Ann Cotham | HB 343 | 03/10/2025 | Advocacy for Long-Term Care Residents Act. |
| Larry W. Potts, Carla D. Cunningham, Cody Huneycutt, and Grant L. Campbell, MD | HB 349 | 03/10/2025 | Reqs HC POA/Adv Direct/IEP Nurse Choice. |
| Larry W. Potts, Carla D. Cunningham, Donnie Loftis, and Donny Lambeth | HB 328 | 03/06/2025 | Ban Delta-8 & Delta-9 on School Grounds. |
| Larry W. Potts, Carla D. Cunningham, Donnie Loftis, and Donny Lambeth | HB 329 | 03/06/2025 | Tobacco and Hemp on Nonpublic School Grounds. |
| Larry W. Potts, Donna McDowell White, Grant L. Campbell, MD, and Timothy Reeder, MD | HB 229 | 02/26/2025 | Medicaid Rates/Ambulatory Surgical Centers. |
| Larry W. Potts, Grant L. Campbell, MD, Hugh Blackwell, and Timothy Reeder, MD | HB 231 | 02/26/2025 | Social Work Interstate Licensure Compact. |
| Larry W. Potts, Donna McDowell White, Donny Lambeth, and Timothy Reeder, MD | HB 242 | 02/26/2025 | Add Psychiatric Hospitals to Medicaid HASP. |
| Larry W. Potts and Donna McDowell White | HB 197 | 02/25/2025 | Local Communicable Disease Programs/Funds. |
| Larry W. Potts, Carla D. Cunningham, Donna McDowell White, and Karl E. Gillespie | HB 160 | 02/21/2025 | Joel H. Crisp SUDEP Awareness Law. |
| Larry W. Potts, Cody Huneycutt, Donny Lambeth, and Timothy Reeder, MD | HB 152 | 02/18/2025 | Access to Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation. |
| Larry W. Potts, Bill Ward, Jennifer Balkcom, and Ray Pickett | HB 139 | 02/17/2025 | Baby Boxes/Newborn Safety Device. |
| Larry W. Potts, Donny Lambeth, Erin Paré, and Kyle Hall | HB 124 | 02/13/2025 | Adopt Official State Cookie. |
| Larry W. Potts, Donna McDowell White, and Donny Lambeth | HB 113 | 02/12/2025 | Create Committee on Medicaid Sustainability. |
| Larry W. Potts, Donny Lambeth, Grant L. Campbell, MD, and Timothy Reeder, MD | HB 67 | 02/05/2025 | Healthcare Workforce Reforms. |
| Larry W. Potts, Cody Huneycutt, Julia C. Howard, and Mitchell S. Setzer | HB 54 | 02/04/2025 | Funds for NC APSE. |
| Larry W. Potts, Cody Huneycutt, Julia C. Howard, and Mitchell S. Setzer | HB 55 | 02/04/2025 | Funds for the IGNITE Program. |
| Larry W. Potts, Brian Biggs, Donny Lambeth, and Tricia Ann Cotham | HB 60 | 02/04/2025 | Modernize Medicaid Dental Rates. |
| Larry W. Potts, Donny Lambeth, Jeff Zenger, and Kyle Hall | HB 30 | 02/03/2025 | SchCalFlex/WS-F,Stokes,Davdsn/Aug11 & Assmnts. |
