(

a) Except as provided in subdivision (

i) of

Section 14105.945, commencing July 1, 2018, and for each state fiscal year thereafter for which this

article is operative, reimbursement to emergency medical transport providers for emergency medical transports shall be increased by application of an add-on to the associated Medi-Cal fee-for-service payment schedule. The add-on increase to the fee-for-service payment

schedule under this

section shall be calculated on or before June 15, 2018, and shall remain the same for later state fiscal years for which this

article is operative, to the extent the department determines federal financial participation is available and is not otherwise jeopardized. The add-on increase to the fee-for-service payment

schedule under this

section shall apply only to those billing codes identified in, or any equivalent, predecessor, or successor billing codes as may be determined by the director pursuant to, subdivision (

g) of

Section 14129. The department shall calculate the projections required by this subdivision based on the data submitted pursuant to

Section 14129.1. The fee-for-service add-on shall be equal to the quotient of the available fee amount projected by the department on or before June 15, 2018, for the 2018–19 state fiscal year, divided by the total Medi-Cal emergency medical transports, including both fee-for-service transports paid by the department and managed care transports paid by Medi-Cal managed care health plans, utilizing these billing codes projected by the department on or before June 15, 2018, for the 2018–19 state fiscal year. The resulting fee-for-service payment

schedule amounts after the application of this

section shall be equal to the sum of the Medi-Cal fee-for-service payment

schedule amount for the 2015–16 state fiscal year and the add-on increase. (b)

(1) Each applicable Medi-Cal managed care health plan shall satisfy its obligation under

Section 438.114(

c) of Title of the Code of Federal Regulations for emergency medical transports and shall provide payment to noncontract emergency medical transport providers consistent with

Section 1396u-2(b)(2)(

D) of Title of the United States Code. Effective July 1, 2018, and for each state fiscal year thereafter for which this

article is operative, the amounts a noncontract emergency medical transport provider could collect if the beneficiary received medical assistance other than through enrollment in a Medi-Cal managed care health plan pursuant to

Section 1396u-2(b)(2)(

D) of Title of the United States Code shall be the resulting fee-for-service payment

schedule amounts after the application of this section.

(2) This subdivision shall not apply to an eligible provider, as defined in paragraph (1) of subdivision (

a) of

Section 14105.945, who provides noncontract emergency medical transports to an enrollee of a Medi-Cal managed care plan during any Medi-Cal managed care rating period that

Section 14105.945 is implemented. (

c) The increased payments required by this

section shall be funded solely from the following:

(1) The quality assurance fee set forth in

Section 14129.2, along with any interest or other investment income earned on those funds.

(2) Federal reimbursement and any other related federal funds. (

d) The proceeds of the quality assurance fee set forth in

Section 14129.2, the matching amount provided by the federal government, and any interest earned on those proceeds shall be used to supplement existing funding for emergency medical transports provided by emergency medical transport providers and not to supplant this funding. (

e) Notwithstanding this article, the department may seek federal approval to implement any add-on increase to the fee-for-service payment

schedule pursuant to this

section for any state fiscal year or years, as applicable, on a time-limited basis for a fixed program period, as determined by the department. (

f) Notwithstanding this article, the add-on increase to the fee-for-service payment

schedule pursuant to this

section shall only be required and payable for state fiscal years that a quality assurance fee payment obligation exists for emergency medical transport providers.