Ambulance services are covered by Medicaid in some states.
Medicaid is a federal health insurance program for low-income individuals and families in the United States. It is overseen by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and administered by the states, who are allowed to apply their own rules regarding Medicaid services and eligibility. Not everyone can take part in Medicaid, but if you are approved, there are a large number of provider types for which you can receive Medicaid benefits.
Physicians
The most obvious types of Medicaid providers are physicians. Participation in Medicaid is optional for physicians, and you may have to contact several doctors before you find one who agrees to take it. The paperwork involved in Medicaid is enormous, and doctors who take Medicaid may have to wait for some time to receive their reimbursement payments from the state. In some areas, the problem in finding Medicaid physicians is getting severe. In a July, 2010 article, the website NBC DFW reported that less than a third of Texas' physicians currently accepted Medicaid, and among those, 24 percent said they would stop completely if the state went through with a plan to cut benefits. Your local Medicaid office should be able to give you a list of doctors and other providers, who will accept Medicaid.
Hospice-Care Providers
Other kinds of Medicaid providers are those who provide hospice services. Hospice care provides palliative services given to those in the last stage of a terminal illness or condition, generally people not expected to live longer than six more months. Hospice care revolves more around allowing the patient to die in comfort and dignity than in aggressive treatment against the disease, although hospice does arrange for medical care by nurses, doctors and home health assistants. Hospice care may also provide medical social services, counseling services, drugs, therapy and medical appliances. The hospice benefit is optional and states are not required to offer it as part of Medicaid. In order to receive payment, a Medicaid hospice provider must meet certain conditions, such as having a plan of care and the intent to avoid institutional settings as much as possible.
Ambulance-Service Providers
Since states set their own guidelines for Medicaid, some states allow Medicaid to be used for ambulance services and some do not. Georgia and Montana are two states which do allow Medicaid to be used for ambulance services. The fees paid to ambulance providers by Medicaid vary according to the type of service rendered, Montana's Medicaid fee schedule for ambulances allows for mileage for basic and advanced life support, defibrillation supplies, routine disposable supplies, injections, drugs and both fixed- and rotary-wing air transport.
