Frequently Asked Questions
(Click on a question to jump to the answer)
What Benefit Does An Ambulance Membership Program Offer To Its Members?
How Does and Ambulance Provider Benefit from a Membership Program?
How Do I Start an Ambulance Membership Program In My Community?
How Much Does An Ambulance Membership Cost?
What Laws Cover Ambulance Membership Programs?
What Obligations Does An Ambulance Membership Program Have?
Does My Ambulance Service Have To Be A Public Agency To Have A Membership Program?
Does My Ambulance Membership Cover Me For Air Ambulance Transport?
Will My Ambulance Service Lose Money Because Of Our Membership Program?
What Benefit Does An Ambulance Membership Program Offer To Its Members?
Ambulance membership gives residents a low-cost alternative to high ambulance user fees. This takes away the hesitation to call 9-1-1 in an emergency. Some people will drive themselves to the hospital or refuse service if someone else calls 9-1-1, because they do not want to, or are unable to pay the bill. Members do not hesitate. That saves lives and provides better medical outcomes.
Some residents may not be able to afford even a membership. For those who do not receive some sort of assistance that pays for their ambulance service, we recommend an assistance fund. You can solicit donations to the fund on your membership application. You can work with local senior and disabled services agencies to identify those in need. You can also follow government assistance guidelines for awarding reduced or no-cost memberships.
How Does an Ambulance Provider Benefit from a Membership Program?
Membership helps achieve an ambulance provider's mission by giving equal access to emergency medical service to everyone, regardless of perceived ability to pay. But a well-run program pays off in other ways. Those who recognize that they are at risk for needing your ambulance service will be the most likely to sign up. If those are the only people on your membership rolls, they will actually hurt your financial position by repeatedly using your service and only contributing an annual membership fee to your revenue stream.
The answer is to distribute the risk among a large number of members. Acquiring lots of members is the job of your marketing organization. If you are not an expert marketer, find one. The expertise of a professional marketer who knows and does marketing everyday is vital to success. The larger your membership pool, the more the dividend that your program pays to your ambulance service.
Another big benefit is the affiliation or affinity that members will feel toward your program. You will gain greater community support because members recognize that they are contributing to the success of your program, and feel good about it. You will see the results at the ballot box and in other community activites such as fundraising.
How Do I Start an Ambulance Membership Program In My Community?
An ambulance membership program is administered by the agency or company that operates the ambulance service. If your state allows membership programs, exempt from insurance regulation, an ambulance provider may be able to institute a program and begin selling memberships. Check with your state insurance commissioner and legal counsel.
Springfield will provide sample Terms of Agreement and application form on request, and will provide advice over the phone free of charge. We offer further services for a fee.
The most important component is public information and education. If you have a program that provides ambulance service with no out-of-pocket expense, you have an obligation to make eligible residents aware of the program. This will entail significant time and expense, but will easily be repaid from memberships.
Springfield will also set up a program for you, and operate the program as well, if you do not have the staff resources and expertise. We administer the program in our area, with over 32,500 members, as well as programs for other providers in Oregon.
How Much Does An Ambulance Membership Cost?
The ambulance membership fee is set by the ambulance provider, and should be set to insure that the cost of delivering service to members each year is covered by the fees collected.
In Oregon most programs charge between $45 and $60 for a family or household. FireMed charges $52 per year per household. Many programs have adopted the unit "household" to be inclusive of those family units that don't meet the strict definition of a nuclear family.
What Laws Cover Ambulance Membership Programs?
Laws vary by state. Check with your state insurance commissioner to see if ambulance membership programs are regulated as insurance (Example: New York, click here.) Other state laws may apply, so check with your legal counsel. In Oregon ambulance membership is exempt from insurance regulation. This is a reasonable situation, because membership is not insurance. The membership is not a third party that pays the bill, which would require having a reserve of cash to pay potential claims. Since you are the service provider, and already have the system in place to deliver services 24/7, you are taking on no additional risk. You are essentially allowing members to prepay the bill for any ambulance service they will need in the future.
What Obligations Does An Ambulance Membership Program Have?
An ambulance membership program has two obligations: to pay for the costs of administering the program and the services provided, and to make sure that eligible residents are aware of the program.
Financial soundness can be assured by making sure that fees remain high enough to cover the costs of administering the program and the cost of service that is given away. Programs in Oregon typically charge $45 to $60 per household. Some programs also have a lower fee for individuals.
The largest cost of administration is the public information and education needed to inform residents. An effective campaign will discharge that obligation, while also motivating membership enrollment that will profide a healthy surplus to the program.
Does My Ambulance Service Have To Be A Public Agency To Have A Membership Program?
Not in Oregon. Check with your insurance commissioner and legal counsel to determine the situation in your state.
Does My Ambulance Membership Cover Me For Air Ambulance Transport?
Some membership programs include air ambulance coverage as part of the basic fee, some offer it as an option, and others cover only ground ambulance service. Jointly marketing air and ground ambulance membership is a good way to decrease the overall cost per membership sold. Often the air and ground ambulances are operated by separate entities who solicit memberships from the same population. By combining efforts both programs gain from the increased resources.
Can our Ambulance Service Lose Money Because Of Our Membership Program?
Your program can insure financial stability, and even healthy surplus, by properly pricing and promoting your memberships. A common mistake is not using professionals to administer the program. Customer relations and effective public information and education are vital to a successful program, and are best assigned to those who are educated and skilled in those fields. Just as you seek emergency medical professionals to run your EMS system, you should seek public relations, marketing, advertising, and customer service professionals to operate your membership program. A common failure of membership programs is to have low membership numbers, filled with only those highest at risk to use an ambulance. High-risk members will seek out membership, while those less at risk, but still desiring the peace of mind that membership offers, must be sought out. Getting the right message to everyone in your service area is necessary to achieving success.
