Funding of EMS 

Ambulance providers, like hospital emergency departments, are required to provide care to every person who requests it regardless of ability to pay.  The system guarantees everyone in the response area access to life saving care when they need it. 23% of our patients do not have insurance.

55% of our patients are covered by Medicare, whose rates are set by the Federal government or Medicaid, whose rates are set by the state.  In both cases, the rates set do not cover the cost of transport. 

Regardless of the fees for service we receive, MAST's job is to ensure there are enough ambulances, deployed properly, so that when you call, there is an ambulance available.  We call this the cost of "readiness."  The difference between the fees we receive and the costs we incur are funded by subsidy granted to us by the City of Kansas City, MO and the surrounding areas we serve