Pinellas County offers ambulance transport coverage membership
PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. - Pinellas County offers an ambulance coverage membership, and it’s encouraging people to enroll to get help with out-of-pocket expenses for ambulance transports.
According to the county, the average cost of a single ambulance transport in Pinellas County is $943. Annual membership fees for the Sunstar FirstCare Ambulance Membership plan are $86 for a single membership, and $129 for a family membership.
The membership covers 100 percent of expenses associated with deductibles and co-payments. It also covers 50 percent of medically necessary trips denied by insurance.
"This is not a new program," Karen Peek, the Ambulance Billing Project and Training Coordinator for Pinellas County, said. "It has been in the county for quite some time, but we want to make sure that as many people as possible know about it. We've had a lot of new residents move to the county, and we want to encourage everyone to take a look at their insurance plan, see what the costs are for emergency and non-emergency ambulance transports and see if this low-cost program is something that would be of benefit to them," she said.
"If your insurance denies the claim, if it is deemed to be medically necessary, it will cover 50 percent of that," Peek said.
Last year, about 2,900 people enrolled. Peek said their goal is at least 5,000 people to keep the program viable. The county pays about $260,000 each year for the program.
The program works with individual’s insurance companies to cut back on out-of-pocket ambulance expenses. The fees aren’t prorated, so the sooner people sign up, the sooner they’ll be able to take advantage of the benefits for coverage through March 31, 2025.