Medicare and Ambulance Services

If you need an ambulance, one of the last things you need to  be worrying about is the cost of this service.

That said, here is an explanation of Medicare coverage for ambulance transportation services. 
A bulletin put out by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services states:

"If you have Original Medicare, Medicare Part B will cover your ambulance services to the nearest appropriate medical facility that is able to give you the care you need if you meet certain conditions. In these situations, Medicare will cover your ambulance service to and from a hospital (including a critical access hospital) skilled nursing facility or dialysis facility.

What Does Medicare Pay?
For each type of covered ambulance transportation, Medicare pays 80% of the Medicare approved amount after you meet the yearly Part B deductible. Medicare's payment may be different if you get services from a hospital-based ambulance company. 

What Do You Pay?
You pay 20 of the Medicare-approved amount after you meet the Part B deductible. In most cases the ambulance company can't charge you more than 20%% of the Medicare-approved amount. What you pay may be different if you get services from a hospital-based company.  All ambulance companies must accept the Medicare-approved amount as payment in full.

If you have a Medicare Advantage Plan or other Medicare health plan, what you pay and the rules for ambulance coverage may be different.

Tomorrow I'll tell you more about the Medicare coverage for the different types of transportation services including air transport, emergency transport and non-emergency transportation.