03/12/2026
Clowns spotted. Go forth my 3rd service locusts
DAY 4: MYTH VS. FACT SERIES - THE EMS TRANSITION 🚨
Today, we’re addressing a common question about EMS funding: Does privatized ambulance service actually save taxpayer money? The facts show that locally managed, fire-based EMS keeps care affordable, accountable and focused on the community.
Many assume that privatized ambulance services save taxpayer money, but the reality is different:
• Profit over community: Private EMS companies operate to make money for shareholders. That means revenue from your emergency calls doesn’t come back to the city to fund public safety or improve services.
• Hidden costs for families: Privatized EMS can often result in surprise bills ranging from $2,000–$4,000 per transport, even for routine medical calls.
• Fire-based EMS keeps care local: When EMS is run by the fire department, every dollar stays in the community. Billing is transparent, accountable and focused on affordability, so residents are not hit with unexpected charges.
• Better for taxpayers and families: The locally managed system ensures resources, funding, and staffing are reinvested directly into Evansville’s safety and emergency care, rather than leaving the city or its residents at a disadvantage.
COMING SOON: To help keep EMS affordable, EFD will continue offering a subscription service for EMS services, an option Evansville residents are already familiar with. For $89 per year, a household subscription helps protect you from high out-of-pocket costs if you or a family member ever needs ambulance transport. If a subscriber is transported, the call is flagged, insurance is billed first, and any remaining balance not covered by insurance is written off under the subscription. We will have more information on how to signup for this service, soon.
The subscription is never required. If you call 911, we will respond and provide care no matter what. This program simply gives residents an option to plan ahead and avoid surprise bills, while still receiving the same high level of emergency care. This approach isn’t new or experimental. Ground EMS subscription programs are used across the country and have long been part of EMS systems like the one Evansville has relied on in the past. The difference now is where the money goes.
Beginning in 2027, any revenue generated through ambulance services stays right here in Evansville; reinvested into ambulances, equipment, supplies and training that directly support patient care. That’s the core difference of fire-based EMS: Your dollars don’t leave the community; they come back to you.
Our stakeholders aren’t shareholders. They’re the people we serve.
