No one wants to receive a surprise ambulance bill, so it’s tempting to buy a prepaid ambulance ticket that can save you thousands. In one area in California, the local American Legion runs their own ambulance service and sells tickets for $100. What do they cover? The veterans group and the stores that actually sell the tickets sort of disagree about that.

CBS Sacramento looked into the tickets when a viewer complained that his mother had been sold a ticket and was told that it would cover 100% of the bill if she needed to take an ambulance. The station checked it out, and that was indeed what they were told.

One drugstore clerk explained that the tickets were “like insurance.” Residents just had to pay $100 to cover their ambulance rides all year.

Another said that the tickets make it so you don’t receive a bill at all after taking an ambulance: “if you ever need to use an ambulance that they just don’t charge you for it, if you have the ticket,” the clerk explained.

An American Legion representative explained that they weren’t out to deliberately mislead people, but they would also sort of go broke if the tickets worked the way that they’re sold. The tickets serve either as a discount plan for people who don’t have ambulance coverage on their insurance, or they mean that the copay or deductible is covered if the passenger does have insurance.

Call Kurtis Investigates: Stores Selling ‘Ambulance Tickets’ Don’t Know What They Cover [CBS Sacramento]
Membership [American Legion Post 108]

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