Ambulance Transport & Billing Information

The Tucson Fire Department (TFD) is proud to serve the community with exceptional emergency medical services. Below are some facts regarding ambulance services and associated billing. If you have questions regarding billing, please contact us at 520-837-8331.

Ambulance

TFD provides advanced life support (ALS) transports, while American Medical Response, or AMR, provides basic life support (BLS) transports. ALS transports require a higher level of medical care for potentially life threatening situations.

Regardless of who does the transport, you may be billed. TFD makes every effort to seek reimbursement from a patient's insurance carrier. Balances not covered by insurance are billed to the patient.

Ambulance transport rates in Arizona are established and regulated by the Arizona Department of Health Services. The average bill for an ALS transport is approximately $1,400. Many insurance plans cover a significant portion of this cost. Most of this bill comes from the ambulance transport base rate. The remainder consists of mileage and medical supplies.

The paramedic's role at the time of service is to care for the patient, not to negotiate or explain medical billing practices. TFD will attempt to obtain signatures from patients, when possible, regarding financial responsibility. If a patient is unable to sign because of their condition, the parmedic notes this in the medical report.

Ambulance fees are assessed to reduce the tax burden of emergency medical services for City of Tucson residents by shifting a portion of the cost to users of the service or their medical insurance carrier. Currently, these fees help recover approximately half of the cost of this service to our community.