A trip to the hospital via EMS for Odessans could cost as much as $900, but the City of Odessa has been offering a solution for quite a few years and open enrollment is right around the corner.
Odessa Fire Rescue Assistant Chief Daniel Chavez said residents can avoid the stress of high ambulance bills by signing up for EMS Lifeline.
Subscribers can simply add $7 to their monthly water bill or $69 to their January water bill or make a one-time payment of $69 using cash, check, a money order or credit card.
While EMS Lifeline is especially beneficial to the chronically ill or elderly patients who frequently end up taking an ambulance to Medical Center Hospital or Odessa Regional Medical Center, Chavez said others can benefit, too.
The fee covers the resident and their spouse, unmarried children under 26 who live with the resident or anybody else who lives with the resident who has been declared a dependent on their income taxes.
“So let’s say you’re a 76-year-old grandma and you have custody of your grandchildren, it covers them, too,” Chavez said. “It benefits more than one person because we don’t charge per person. It’s per household.”
Most insurance doesn’t fully cover ambulance runs, Chavez said.
“We all know that an ambulance run can be costly and it’s just getting higher and higher so this program is good. I actually buy it for my parents every year as a gift,” Chavez said. “It’s a very good program and an opportunity for our citizens, especially our elderly. A lot of them are on fixed incomes and it can be very stressful and I would hate for someone to not call 911 just because they’re so worried about the finances.”
He agreed having a subscription might also cut down on someone risking a crash by speeding to the hospital, he said.
OFR chiefs Charlie Smith and Steve Pollock came up with the idea for an ambulance subscription in the late 90s, Chavez said.
Roughly 2,000 residents are currently signed up for the service, he said.
“We use those funds for firefighter personal protective equipment and EMS supplies. So it goes to a good cause,” Chavez said. “Basically we reinvest it back into our service.”
Chavez explained how the system works.
“When you first subscribe your name is in our system and you’re flagged essentially. So whenever it goes to our billing department, they’ll see that your name is flagged, and they will see you’re a subscriber holder and you get waived that ambulance bill,” he said.
There is no limit to the number of ambulance rides a particular person or household can take, Chavez said.
Open enrollment for EMS Lifeline is October-December, although people can sign up any time, he said.
Interested in signing up for EMS Lifeline? Call 432-257-0502 or visit www.odessa-tx.gov
