Ambulance membership offers solution to out-of-pocket expenses

Residents have a low-cost solution to costly ambulance expenses thanks to Sunstar’s FirstCare Ambulance Membership. The membership plan provides financial help for individual patients or families on out-of-pocket expenses for ambulance transportation.

The estimated average cost of a single ambulance transport is $915. Annual membership fees for the Sunstar FirstCare Ambulance Membership plan are $83 for a Single Membership and $125 for a Family Membership. Membership covers 100% of expenses associated with deductibles and co-payments and 50% of medically necessary trips denied by insurance. Uninsured members receive a 20% discount on medically necessary ambulance transportation.

In 2021, the membership plan saved residents an average of $189 per transport.

The Family Membership covers individuals who reside in the same household related by blood, adoption, marriage, or registered domestic partnership.

The Sunstar FirstCare Ambulance Membership is not an insurance plan. It is a Pinellas County Government program that works with an individual’s insurance company to minimize out-of-pocket ambulance expenses.

Individuals should enroll as soon as possible to receive additional coverage. New enrollees, paid in full prior to March 31, 2023, will receive more than 12 months of coverage for the cost of the one-year plan. For more information and detailed plan coverage, call (727) 582-2008 or visit www.pinellas.gov/ambulance-plan.