Emergency ground medical transportation. This bill would delete that direct reimbursement requirement and would require a health care service plan contract or a health insurance policy issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2024, to require an enrollee or insured who receives covered services from a noncontracting ground ambulance provider to pay no more than the same cost-sharing amount that the enrollee or insured would pay for the same covered services received from a contracting ground ambulance provider. The bill would prohibit a noncontracting ground ambulance provider from billing or sending to collections a higher amount, and would prohibit a ground ambulance provider from billing an uninsured or self-pay patient more than the established payment by Medi-Cal or Medicare fee-for-service amount, whichever is greater. The bill would require a plan or insurer to reimburse for ground ambulance services at the authorized rate for the specific exclusive operating area, unless it reaches another agreement with the noncontracting ground ambulance provider. Because a willful violation of the bill’s requirements relative to a health care service plan would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.