Medicare Coverage of Ambulance Services
Medicare Part B (Medical Insurance) covers ambulance services to or from a hospital, critical access hospital, or a skilled nursing facility only when other transportation could endanger your health.

In some cases, Medicare may cover ambulance services from your home or a medical facility to get care for a health condition that requires you to be transported only by ambulance. Medicare may also cover ambulance services to or from a dialysis facility for people with End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) who need dialysis, and other transportation could endanger their health.

Emergency ambulance transportation
Emergency ambulance transportation is provided after you’ve had a sudden medical emergency, when your health is in serious danger, and when every second counts to prevent your health from getting worse.

The following are examples of when Medicare might cover emergency ambulance transportation:

• You’re in severe pain, bleeding, in shock, or unconscious.
• You need oxygen or other skilled medical treatment during transportation.
• You need to be restrained to keep you from hurting yourself or others.

These are only examples. Medicare coverage depends on the seriousness of your medical condition and whether you could have been safely transported by other means.

Medicare will only cover ambulance services to the nearest appropriate medical facility that is able to give you the care you need. If you choose to be transported to a facility farther away, Medicare’s payment will be based on the charge to the closest appropriate facility.

If no local facilities are able to give you the care you need, Medicare will help pay for transportation to the nearest facility outside your local area that is able to give you the care you need.

Read Full: Medicare Coverage of Ambulance Services

PDF format, 546KB, 16Pages.

This official government booklet explains the following:

When Medicare helps cover ambulance services
What Medicare pays
What you pay
What to do if Medicare doesn’t cover your ambulance service

Table of Contents
Introduction
Medicare Coverage of Ambulance Services
Emergency ambulance transportation
Air transportation
Non-emergency ambulance transportation
Paying for Ambulance Services
What does Medicare pay?
What do I pay?
How do I know if Medicare didn’t pay for my ambulance service?
Medicare Rights and Protections
What can I do if Medicare doesn’t pay for an ambulance trip
I think should be covered?
What if Medicare still won’t pay?
Getting More Information
Definitions

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