“We wanted to eliminate some of the cost that citizens were incurring on bills that were not being paid by Medicare or private insurance companies,” Craft said.
HURST, Texas — A North Texas town has found a unique way to help out its residents when they need to take a trip to the hospital.
The city of Hurst has an ambulance subscription service. The service started in 2004 with about 300 members and is now up to about 1,000, according to Hurst Fire Department Assistant Fire Chief Brent Craft.
“We wanted to eliminate some of the cost that citizens were incurring on bills that were not being paid by Medicare or private insurance companies,” Craft said. “Whatever is left over that the insurance company doesn’t pay, we will write off.”
And even if a citizen doesn’t have health care insurance, the program covers emergency medical services delivered prior to hospital arrival. It costs $60 to join annually and enrollment for 2023 is happening now through the end of the 2022.
Craft said when the city implemented this service back in 2004, it was mainly because citizens were bringing up the rising costs of health care, in general.
“We decided to try and help those families with those costs,” Craft said.
One of the Hurst citizens who takes advantage of this service is Jodi Mauldin. She has lived in Hurst for about 32 years. She recently had to go to the hospital because she was having heart problems and ended up having a stint put in.
She wasn’t signed up for the service at the time and said she paid $1,000 for her ambulance ride.
Then she decided to sign up for the service. When she had to go to the hospital a second time a few years later, now being a member? She paid nothing.
“It’s just a good feeling to know, ‘Hey, I’m covered,'” Mauldin said. “I don’t have to pay any money out of this. It’s all taken care of.”
Mauldin said it makes her proud of Hurst to know this service exists.
“It’s outstanding,” Mauldin said. “I think it’s an awesome deal for anybody.”
Craft said the ambulance program is revenue neutral, meaning the city ends each year about even.
“We don’t typically make any money,” Craft said. “Therefore it makes it easier for them as well.”
Here is how the program works:
To learn more about Hurst’s ambulance subscription service, you can click here.